


Gold Rush

by heartofmara



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Borderline Personality Disorder, Comedy, Dementia, Drama, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, F/M, Foster Care, Hurt/Comfort, Like Noelle said - all characters are gay, POV Adora (She-Ra), POV Catra (She-Ra), Slow Burn, catradora, gay pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:29:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 36,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28761078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartofmara/pseuds/heartofmara
Summary: Reeling from her Nana Razz's diagnosis, Adora Grayskull moves cross-country to attend Bright Moon University on a track scholarship. She soon gets more than she bargained for when she runs into a ghost from her past, a cedar-haired girl with a smirk on her face and a strong aversion to rekindling their childhood friendship. When the two are paired up for a chemistry lab project, Catra and Adora are forced to navigate their complicated relationship in order to save their grades.* A Catradora College AU full of lots of gay pining
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 108





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! This is not my first time writing fanfiction, nor posting it, but it is my first time on Ao3 so I'd love to know what you all think. The title comes from a Taylor Swift song because I swear she writes these songs about Catradora and nobody can tell me otherwise. The rating is T right now but I might change that to M in the future (if that's the case I will give ample heads up!) TW for this chapter: mentions of dementia

From the moment she stepped on Bright Moon University’s spacious campus, Adora knew her first year at college was going to be unlike anything she’d experienced in her eighteen unremarkable years. It began when she approached the check-in table at orientation. She was only slightly emotional after saying goodbye to Nana Razz, the woman who had adopted her from a miserable, shabby orphanage eight years ago. Although they weren’t related by blood, Razz was nothing but stubborn when she insisted Adora call her ‘Nana.’ And Adora had been whacked by her broom and fed delicious raspberry pie too many times since then to want to call her anything else.

Adora approached the check-in table where a girl with teal hair pulled into a side braid sat in her chair with her feet up on the table. She was chewing gum and staring out the large windows that overlooked the main quad, a bored expression on her face.

“Name?” she asked in a monotone voice.

“Adora Grayskull,” Adora responded. The girl, who didn’t look to be much older than Adora herself, rifled through some folders.

“You’ll have to go get your ID picture taken at the Student Center sometime before the end of the day,” she said, handing over a campus map and a room key. “You’re in Dorm B, which you can find on the map. Oh, and the waterfall in your room is _not_ for showering. Community bathrooms are at the end of each hall.”

Adora took the map and key, utterly confused as to why there would be a waterfall in her dorm room. She knew Bright Moon was a relatively expensive school, but that seemed a little overboard. She gave the girl a tentative smile and left.

Then, as she tried to follow the campus map to her dorm, she passed by a group of students on the main lawn. One of them, with tousled brown hair and a red handkerchief around his neck, stood before the others and proudly declared,

“My sweetest Mermista / she took my cream cheese / Now all I know / is misery.

So I went to the fridge / on a daring adventure / and found my sweet cheese / with Mermista none the wiser!”

When he concluded, the others snapped their fingers approvingly, one even reaching out and clapping their friend on the shoulder in congratulation. If Adora had to guess, he was reciting poetry, but that was unlike any poetry she read about in her high school literature classes. In Adora’s opinion, simply reciting words that somewhat rhymed did not make an interesting poem.

Finally, she arrived at Building B, her new home for the next nine months. Since her room was only on the third floor out of ten, she decided to take the stairs. As she rounded the corner, she came upon two students heavily making out against the railing. One of them gripped the other’s hair like it was a lifebuoy and they were drowning in an icy ocean. She gripped her suitcase tighter and readjusted her duffle bag on her shoulder.

“Excuse me,” she interjected. The two didn’t pay her any attention. So she pushed past them, ignoring the sloppy, smacking noises, and quickly exited the stairwell.

Overall - a unique start to her college experience. Adora knew that she was bound to undergo a little discomfort moving to a new city and being surrounded by thousands of unfamiliar faces. In fact, she had rarely traveled outside of her hometown (colloquially known as the ‘Fright Zone’) except for the annual state track meet. Even then, she and her Nana Razz only had to drive two and half hours. This was the furthest away from the Fright Zone she’d ever been, and she wasn’t close with any of the other students from her high school that were also freshmen here. This year was a completely new experience for her. Honestly, Adora was thrilled about it.

That didn’t mean she was keen on watching her classmates shove their tongues down each other’s throats, though.

She glanced at her key and saw the number “305” written in fading sharpie. She approached Room 305 and noticed that someone had already decorated her door. Taped to the door was a drawing of a window with a box of flowers at the bottom and “Glimmer + Adora” written in sparkling letters underneath. She wondered if this was her roommates’ doing, or if it was the RA. She remembered overhearing others back in high school talking about how RAs were older students that lived on your hall and checked to make sure you didn’t have alcohol or weed in your dorm room. Adora sure wasn’t planning on any of that, and she hoped her roommate wasn’t either. Regardless, the decorations were a nice gesture.

She summoned her courage and pushed open the door. The room was tiny, much tinier than she imagined. There was barely enough space for the two twin beds pushed against either wall and the half-dressers at the foot of each bed. Against the back wall sat two desks, each underneath a small window that reminded Adora of a jail cell. Indeed, separating the desks was a small waterfall that made a soft trickling noise as its contents flowed from a small pipe into an awaiting tile bowl.

She turned her head and saw a girl with short pink hair that curled up above each ear, revealing an underlayer of purple, lounging on one of the beds. She was wearing a large purple tank top with a light teal sweater and had her feet up on the headboard, displaying white tennis shoes with a rainbow platform.

“Oh, hi!” She scrambled out from the mass of multi-colored pillows on the bed to stand in front of Adora. “You must be my roommate! I’m Glimmer.” Her wide eyes seemed to sparkle as she looked up at Adora from thick, curved eyebrows.

“Adora,” she said as the girl smiled at her. Now that she was standing, Adora estimated that she stood almost a full head above her roommate.

“I went ahead and claimed the right bed, hope that’s okay,” Glimmer said and retreated back so Adora could bring her bags through the narrow doorway. “My mom just _had_ to get us here super early even though there’s literally nothing for me to do today since classes haven’t started yet. Oh, besides going to get my ID picture taken! Have you gotten yours yet?”

Adora had already begun unloading some of her clothes into the small dresser by the foot of her bed. She didn’t really have much, and given how talkative Glimmer was, she had a feeling she would finish unpacking before she could get a word in. Although, as Adora looked over at her pink-and purple-haired roommate, she couldn’t help but feel glad that she got stuck with someone who seemed more extroverted. She was never really good at making friends, so maybe spending time with Glimmer wouldn’t hurt.

“I haven’t,” she admitted.

“Wanna go together?” Glimmer asked and Adora didn’t hesitate to respond, “Sure.”

Glimmer was silent for a moment as Adora put her running shoes underneath the desk, unsure of the best spot for them. Dang, the dorm was really small. When she looked up, she saw Glimmer speedily typing away on her phone. “My friend Bow is going to come with us too. He’s actually just one floor below us.”

“Okay,” Adora responded. Sure enough, she made quick work of unloading both her duffle bag and her suitcase. When she finished, she shoved the bags underneath the bed and began to unfold her sheets and pillowcase.

“Wait,” Glimmer said, looking up from where she had reclined back into her many pillows. “Is that all you brought?”

Adora looked up sheepishly. “Uh, yeah. Don’t really have that much.”

She swore that she saw something akin to pity flash in her roommate’s eyes. Adora was used to these looks and the following conversations they always brought. First, there was pity from the ladies who served her meals at Weaver’s Home for Troubled Girls. Then, there was pity from the teachers at her new school once she moved in with Razz. Hell, there even was pity from some of her nicer classmates when they saw her run-down clothes and limited school supplies. Although Adora could not have dreamed for anyone better than Razz to adopt her, Razz unfortunately did not have enough money to always get Adora the latest iPhone or the letterman jacket that she coveted all four years of high school.

Then, there was pity from the doctors as they informed her of Razz’s condition. ‘Dementia’ had been the word they used, but all Adora could hear was the sound of her jagged breaths as she realized the one good thing in her life was going to slowly fade away.

A knock on the door startled her back to reality, to her tiny dorm room at a university she could only attend due to a substantial track scholarship. She didn’t even want to run track again in college, but she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go to one of the best universities in the nation or, more frankly, the money the school offered.

“Hey, Bow!” Glimmer greeted as she swung open the door. The doorknob hit Adora’s dresser and Glimmer apologized, “Oops, sorry. These rooms are so tiny.”

Adora waved her off and took in the newcomer. He, like Glimmer, was dressed fashionably. He wore a white and gold cropped hoodie over his broad shoulders and ripped navy jeans tucked into white high tops with golden laces. Perched upon his nose were those glasses with the clear frames that Adora always thought looked stupid; however, they seemed to fit this Bow. He flashed her a bright smile.

“Hi, I’m Bow,” he reached out to shake her hand.

“Adora,” she responded, returning the handshake.

“You two ready to go get our student ID pictures taken? No pressure, but we’ll have the same photo on our ID all four years,” he remarked.

Adora tried not to cringe as she looked down at her very unfashionable white athletic shirt and tan pants. She slung her favorite red faux leather jacket over her shoulder and tried to sound optimistic as she said, “Yeah, let’s go.”

She followed them out the door and only when Glimmer turned around to lock it did she realize she left her key behind. “Wait, I left my key in the room!” She exclaimed.

“You should get a lanyard for it,” Glimmer suggested as she unlocked the room so Adora could grab her key. Adora shoved it in her pocket as Bow offered, “They probably sell them at the Student Center.”

Adora nodded, although she knew that she wasn’t going to buy a lanyard. She was on a strict budget and did not want to spend her small allowance each month on something frivolous like a long loop of fabric for her room key. She needed that money for textbooks, as well as personal items like shampoo and toothpaste.

“So, Adora, what’s your major?” Bow asked as they made their way to the Student Center. Somehow, Glimmer led them through campus without a map or stopping to ask for directions. Adora assumed that she might have an older sibling here, or just have an excellent memory from her campus tour.

They pass the same group of students that were reciting poetry earlier as Adora tells them, “I’m studying Anthropology.”

She waited for the inevitable next question - What do you want to do with that? - a question Adora always dreaded because she didn’t have a clear answer. Instead, Bow excitedly exclaimed, “That’s cool! One of my majors is history so maybe we’ll have some intro classes together.”

Glimmer turned around from her position leading the pack and threw her hands in the air as she commented, “If you say it like that, Bow, you’re going to sound pretentious.”

“What’s so pretentious about having two majors?” he pushed back.

“What’s your other major?” Adora interjected before Glimmer could respond.

“Communications. I might change it to computer science, but I haven’t decided yet,” Bow told her. “The history major is a part of my dads’ compromise for me to go here. They said that I had to study history if I wanted them to pay for my tuition.”

Adora sucked in her breath. She could relate to that with her track scholarship.

“They’re actually really nice people,” Bow’s voice softened as he said this. “They’ve just had a vision for my future since I was barely two years old.”

“Can confirm,” Glimmer said as they approached the Student Center. The building, like most others on campus, was painted a warm beige with black shutters on all the windows. It appeared to be about five stories tall, with three large columns by the back door. A large staircase led up to a small paved patio filled with students. In particular, a long line of them spilled from the open double doors. Adora assumed that these were other freshmen waiting in line for their ID photo.

She shoved her hands in her pockets and tried not to let herself get overwhelmed by the crowds as Glimmer expounded, “Bow and I have known each other for, like, ever. We’ve gone to school together since preschool so it only made sense we’d both end up at the same college.” She chuckled as Bow leaned over and slung his arm around her shoulders casually.

The rest of the conversation flowed smoothly as they waited for almost a full hour before taking their ID photos. She learned that Glimmer was studying public policy, which Adora didn’t fully understand, but when her roommate likened it to political science she was able to make enough connections to ask, “So you want to work in politics?”

Glimmer shrugged, her sweater falling off her right shoulder. She didn’t bother to pull it back up as she said, “I could work as a politician, but I could also be a lobbyist or consultant on issues that I’m passionate about. That way I don’t have to spend all my time campaigning to stay in office.”

They finally reached the area where three student workers were frantically taking pictures and printing off IDs from little black machines that looked like portable receipt printers. Adora, unfortunately, blinked as soon as the camera went off. When the picture was done printing, the student worker laughed and told her she could get it redone if she wanted. For $20.

Adora politely declined and shoved her ID in her pocket before Bow or Glimmer could ask to see it. In the photo, her eyes were half-lidded and her mouth slightly open in protest. Maybe she would get a part-time job just to save up the $20 for a new picture.

As they exited the Student Center, the sun was starting to approach the horizon. She held up a hand to block out the harsh, golden rays as she looked over at the other two.

“Wanna go grab a snack in the dining hall?” Glimmer suggested. “Plumeria’s the biggest, and closest.”

Adora’s stomach growled almost as if on cue and they all laughed. Glimmer took the lead again, directing them down a sidewalk in the opposite direction of their dorm. She and Bow chattered on as Adora followed behind, feeling less nervous than she did at the beginning of the day. Yes, Bright Moon’s campus was huge, but she had only been here for a couple hours and already found two nice people to hang out with.

However, part of her still felt guilty about her choice to go off to college and leave her sick Nana behind. Razz had just swatted her gently with a broom when Adora brought up her concerns of leaving her guardian all alone and demanded she accept the scholarship or Razz would sign the documents for her. It helped ease Adora’s nerves when a woman named Mara who worked at the local hospital offered to check in with Razz every evening on her way home from work. Apparently she lived a couple houses down and had reassured Adora it would be no trouble.

Still, Adora couldn’t stop picturing her Nana sitting at home alone during the day, potentially suffering without Adora there to help out.

Adora was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn’t notice the soccer ball rolling down the hill towards the sidewalk - towards _her_ \- or Bow and Glimmer shouting her name. The ball collided with her ankles and she tripped flat on her face, literally eating some of the dirt from the sidewalk. Luckily, she had stuck out her arms to soften the blow. But now her palms were stinging, full of little pieces of sidewalk.

“Adora, are you okay?” She heard Glimmer ask, but when she looked up, she was staring into blue and gold heterochromatic eyes. The person standing before her had a smirk on her face as she looked down at Adora over a slightly pointed chin. Her layered, cedar-brown hair was pulled back by a scarlet bandana tied to let shorter, lighter strands fall in front of her ears. Even as the girl regarded her with contempt, Adora couldn’t help but notice how naturally stunning she was. Her freckles gleamed in the late afternoon light and Adora could swear that one of her cheeks curled up into a dimple. In the back of Adora’s mind, a memory struggled to get free from the prison she kept around all her experiences from Weaver’s. Did she know this girl?

“You might want to watch where you’re going, princess,” the girl teased.

Feeling like she’d just been struck by a truck, Adora scrambled to her feet. She reached out and handed the girl the ball back. “Sorry about that,” Adora apologized even though she had no idea what she was apologizing for.

The girl threw her head back and laughed. Adora immediately wondered if she’d done something wrong. “It’s not mine, but I can help it get back to its owner.”

A tall girl suddenly ran down the hill and halted next to the girl with the bandana. Her white-blonde hair, almost silver in the afternoon light, was styled into a crafty undercut with several longer strands dangling over her forehead. Despite the sweat on her brow and her workout attire, she still sported expertly-applied black lipstick and several red hoops in her left ear. She put her arms on Adora’s shoulders and said, “I am so sorry about that! We shouldn’t have been playing so close to the sidewalk.”

Adora faintly recognized a Minnesota accent in the way the girl said her ‘o’s. She slipped out of the tall girl’s grasp, uncomfortable with physical contact from a stranger. “No, it’s my bad, I should’ve been paying more attention.”

“Adora, your hands,” Bow pointed out and she glanced down to see small pools of blood forming in her palms. She clenched her fists shut as if that would stop the bleeding.

“There’s a first aid kit in the library, and we’re almost there,” Glimmer told her, stepping up on her other side. “It’s not that big of a deal. I can just wash them off in the bathroom at the dining hall,” Adora rationalized. Glimmer shook her head. “We’re going to get that first aid kit,” she announced and grabbed Adora’s elbow, pulling her down the sidewalk. Adora regarded the two strangers as she walked away. The one with the freckles and tan skin was staring at her with a puzzled look that must’ve mirrored Adora’s. She must know this girl from _somewhere_ , her memories fighting against their mental cage. She was on the cusp of determining where she knew this girl from when the taller one said, “C’mon, Catra.”

Adora gasped and stopped walking. Catra - the girl that had also been at Weaver’s with her for almost two years. Catra, the girl who stole Adora’s dessert every night and ran around the grounds with her during their outdoor hours. Catra, the girl who had laid awake with her at night, fantasizing about the nice families that would come to adopt them.

Adora had gotten adopted soon after her tenth birthday, but she had no clue how long Catra had stayed there after she left. To be honest, she hadn’t thought much about her childhood friend since then. After all, when you’re in primary school your friends come and go, especially in an orphanage where kids got adopted and moved away frequently.

She opened her mouth to call something back out to Catra, but Glimmer mercilessly dragged her away. Catra dropped her gaze and turned to follow the tall girl back up the hill. As Glimmer helped clean her wounds with a first aid kit that the librarian had shoved in their hands the moment they walked through the door, Adora kept thinking about that playful smirk. She _had_ to find Catra again. She needed to know how much longer she stayed at Weaver’s and what her adopted family was like. They were probably rich if Catra was here at Bright Moon University.

Perhaps the universe was sending her a sign that she should reconnect with her childhood friend. As Glimmer carefully applied the bandaids to Adora’s bleeding palms, Adora resolved to find Catra again, no matter what. She could use all the friends that she could get if she wanted to survive freshman year. If Catra was her friend when they were kids, she’d want to be her friend again now, right?

Adora fell asleep that night and dreamed of turquoise and gold eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are always appreciated :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra bumps into Adora in chemistry, much to her chagrin. Later, party shenanigans from the super pal trio (+Mermista and Perfuma) ensue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is Catra's POV and the remaining chapters will alternate between her and Adora. Minus this chapter and the previous, I will start posting updates on Sundays. TW for this chapter: mentions of borderline personality disorder (BPD)

Catra’s first week of college was mediocre, to say the least. The rooms were small, her roommate was _way_ too interested in being her best friend, and the classes were at ridiculous times. Who in their right mind scheduled a ninety-minute chemistry lecture at eight am? The only redeeming qualities of this preppy university full of stuffy, rich kids was that Catra was finally getting the opportunity to take classes in psychology. The rundown high school that she attended didn’t even have enough money for a school counselor, which was why Catra was so surprised when her short essay about her experiences in the foster system won her a full-ride social work scholarship from Bright Moon University. She didn’t think twice before accepting the money and packing her bags to move across the country. Maybe she’d finally get the opportunity to learn why no family had ever wanted to adopt her.

As her alarm buzzed for the fourth time, Catra groaned and resisted the urge to throw her phone against the wall. Her roommate, Scorpia, was still sleeping so Catra tried to not make too much of a racket as she climbed out of bed and scrambled to get dressed. As annoying as Scorpia could be, she was also deeply kind and caring. She had gone around and introduced herself to everyone else on their hall, including their teal-haired RA who was so apathetic Catra wondered why she even signed up for the position in the first place.

Catra barely paused in front of the mirror to push her wild mane behind her favorite bandana. Back in middle school she had tried to brush her hair, but quickly stopped once she realized that a brush only made it _more_ unruly. 

While she never knew them, she sometimes imagined what her parents looked like. Besides the running inside joke that one of them had golden-brown eyes while the other had eyes of deep teal, she always pictured at least one of them with thick, bushy tresses not unlike her own.

Catra grabbed her headphones from the top of the dresser and wasted no time in roughly stituating them over her ears. She found the small, worn leather knapsack that she was passing off as a backpack crumpled on the floor next to the dresser. She slung it over one shoulder and left the room. She turned to lock the door with the room key that she had affixed to a long matte black chain, then slung the chain around her neck and underneath her shirt. 

Campus was relatively empty as she began the trek to the chemistry labs. On Monday and Wednesday she attended chemistry lectures, but on Friday she had to participate in a three-hour lab. Catra was deeply frustrated that she still had to take classes in subjects other than psychology, but apparently freshman year was chock-full of core classes on various topics. 

_Wonderful_.

She checked the time on her phone and groaned when she realized that she slept in a lot longer than she intended. Since she wasn’t about to run across campus before eight in the morning, she resigned herself to stroll into the lab fashionably late. While the chemistry lectures took place in a large hall that seated over three hundred students, the labs were much smaller, like her science classrooms in high school. There were about twenty, weary-eyed students sitting behind long tables as she walked in. The only open space was in the front, next to… Catra couldn’t believe her eyes. It was _her -_ the blonde girl who had tripped on Scorpia’s soccer ball the other day. She offered Catra a shy grin. 

_Adora_ , Catra remembered, _her name is Adora and we were both at Weaver’s together._

Catra couldn’t believe her rotten luck. After running into the clumsy girl that used to be her friend, she had resolved to never see her again, _ever_. But it appeared that the universe had a sense of humor by sticking them in the same class. Catra made a mental note to get to class early next Friday so she could pick a seat far away from Adora.

The grad student leading their class didn’t falter as Catra scrambled to the empty seat. He had hollow cheeks and furrowed eyebrows, speaking in an almost condescending voice as he described the intricacies of their first assignment. As he droned on and on, Adora scribbled down notes beside her. Catra glanced over and noticed that Adora was using different colored pens for different sections of her notes. Her color-coordination contrasted deeply with the messy way she scribbled on the fronts and backs of the pages, outside of the margins and in between the lines. 

Catra chuckled lightly and crossed her arms, fully determined to never take any notes in this stupid intro class that she didn’t care about. Adora glanced up at her for a brief moment and Catra saw a determined glint in her gray-blue eyes before she buried her head down once more. While she scribbled, Catra couldn’t help but notice the strong, corded muscles underneath the sleeves of Adora’s skin-tight workout top that strained and flexed as she frantically traded out one color pen for another. Catra didn’t allow her gaze to linger for too long, though. She had no clue if Adora would even be into her, and Catra had no intention of repeating the mistakes she made in high school when she developed a hopeless crush on a straight girl.

Regardless, this was _Adora_ . While Catra could admire her arms, she would never do anything about it because she wanted absolutely _nothing_ to do with her former friend.

The class concluded early as they didn’t participate in any experiments, but the TA said they needed to complete ten pages of lab prep before next Friday. Catra tried to slip out of the classroom before Adora said anything to her, but she was too slow in grabbing her knapsack. Adora slid off her stool and blocked Catra’s exit.

“Hey,” the blonde smiled. She settled her hands in the pockets of her grey jeans (a much better look than the tan pants she was wearing the other day) and eyed Catra cautiously.

“Hey,” Catra drawled. “How are the hands?”

Adora drew her hands out of her pockets and showed off her bandaged palms. “A lot better. Glimmer runs a serious clinic.”

Catra scoffed and the TA, erasing the whiteboard, turned his head to frown at her. She knew that she didn’t make a stellar first impression by showing up late on the first day, but did he have to regard her with such disgust? She and Adora shuffled out of the lab together. “Your friend’s name is Glimmer?”

“My roommate,” Adora corrected. “But yeah.”

They stepped out into the humid morning air. Catra pulled her phone out of her bag to check the time: 9:45am. If she could barely pay attention for a little less than two hours, how would she ever survive _three_ -hour labs?

She glanced over at Adora and tried to think of a good excuse to remove herself from the other girl’s company. What came out of her mouth was partially true, “I’m gonna head back to my dorm to get some more sleep.”

Unfortunately, Adora spoke at the same time as her, and from the confused look on her face, Catra could tell neither of them properly heard the other. Adora giggled a little breathlessly and repeated, “Do you want to go grab breakfast at the dining hall?”

Catra winced. “I actually think I’m gonna go back to my dorm and get some sleep.”

“Oh, okay,” Adora responded, sounding more hurt than she had any right to be. “I’ll see you next week.”

“See you next week... _Adora_.”

Pride filled Catra’s chest at the way Adora flushed when she said her name slowly. She turned on her heel and walked away quickly before she accidentally flirted any more with the girl she was trying to avoid. Hopefully after this chemistry class was over, Catra wouldn’t ever have to interact with her again.

She stalked back to her dorm, trying to not breathe too heavily after walking uphill. It was just her luck she got stuck with the dorm that was furthest away from all the classrooms and situated upon the apex of the largest hill on campus. Her RA had admitted that their hallway was the only freshman hallway in the building- the other rooms were all reserved for second years and beyond. Apparently the school had admitted too many students this past year, and somehow Catra was the one paying the price for that.

Scorpia was gone by the time she arrived at her room, so Catra closed the blinds and threw herself back underneath her covers. She tossed and turned for about five whole minutes before her patience gave up. Her RA had mentioned that there was a student lounge up on the roof, so Catra grabbed her headphones and one of the many books she had stacked upon her dresser, and rode the elevator to the top of the building.

As she stepped out onto the slightly windy roof, Catra’s jaw dropped. Okay, so maybe there were _some_ benefits to living in the dorm at the top of the hill. She stepped towards the ledge to survey the entire campus and the city beyond. She spotted the main quad, where students the size of ants milled around, as well as the Student Center that towered over the heart of campus. 

Catra pulled two patio chairs over to the edge and sunk down in one, her feet propped up nicely on the second. She put her headphones on and played one of her oldest playlists with all of her favorite songs from middle school. She knew the punk rock songs so well that she could tune out the lyrics and concentrate on her book. 

Catra never enjoyed reading until her friend, who preferred the name Double Trouble, introduced her to several fiction series with gay main characters. Not that there was anything wrong with the more popular books that the other kids read, but Catra couldn’t identify with the characters or their stories as strongly as she did with the books Double Trouble recommended for her. In fact, right before they went their separate ways for college, Double Trouble gave Catra all of their favorites with a knowing smile.

_“Don’t forget about me all the way in Bright Moon, ‘kay?”_

Catra let the music wash over her as she read. She made it about a page before her thoughts started to drift to Adora. Catra still couldn’t believe that they were both attending the same school thousands of miles from their hometown. After Adora left Weaver’s, Catra’s life became...bleak, to say the least. As she grew older, her prospects for adoption grew slimmer. The nuns never acknowledged this, though, and aggressively continued to encourage her to pray for a nice family to come along. When no adoptions occurred, Catra lashed out at the other orphans, the nuns, and anyone who dared to cross her path. Her spouts of anger and sadness lasted only for a couple days, but always manifested after another kid was adopted.

As soon as she turned 13, the orphanage shut down and Catra fell into the foster system. A couple of days later, she was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder when her assigned social worker took her to the doctor for a check-up.

Adora had been one of the last good things that happened to her. She remembered teasing the blonde, pulling at her ever-present high ponytail and stealing pieces of her food at dinner. But of course Adora was too perfect to stay at Weaver’s and got adopted by what Catra assumed was a nice couple with two dogs and a big backyard. Her adopted family also must be rich if Adora was attending Bright Moon. Adora never had to worry if her foster mom spent their unemployment check on bottles and bottles of booze instead of food to feed Catra and the other foster kid living under that roof. Adora didn’t know what it was like to live unemployment check-to-unemployment check.

 _She never needed you anyway_ , a harsh voice echoed in her head. 

Catra almost dropped her book. It had been a while since her self-doubt manifested so strongly. She knew that seeing a therapist would help, but now that she was no longer living with a foster family that received a stipend to pay for her therapy, treatment was unlikely to happen any time soon.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed.

 **Scorpia(roomie)** : hi, Wildcat, wanna meet at Plumeria for breakfast?

Catra’s initial reaction was to decline, but if she never ate at any of the dining halls, her meal stipend would go to waste. So, she responded, “yeah, but don’t call me that” and gathered her things, regretting ever telling Scorpia about the nickname Double Trouble had given her.

* * *

“And that’s why we should go!” Scorpia finished, brandishing her fork triumphantly.

“Okay, I’m going to need you to keep your utensils on the plate when you talk,” Catra snidely remarked, annoyed that the syrup from her roommate’s fork had flung onto her eggs.

“I’m so sorry!” Scorpia said, noticing the brown flecks on Catra’s plate. “I’ll get you some more eggs.” 

She started to stand up, but Catra hissed, “Oh my God, don’t. It’s not a big deal.” Scorpia hesitantly sat back down. “But I don't want to go. How did you even get invited to a sophomore party anyways?”

“I’m in a Linear Algebra class that’s technically for second-years,” Scorpia shrugged like it was easy to get into an advanced math class as a freshman. “Guess I did well on my AP exams.”

“Damn,” Catra remarked and picked at her eggs.

“The girl I sit next to, Entrapta, is _super_ cool! She’s smart and innovative and actually lives in our dorm!” Scorpia rambled. “But she and her robotics club friends are throwing a party tonight and we should go.”

Catra sighed and pushed her plate away. As the largest dining hall, Plumeria was also the most crowded. She could barely hear the 90s pop hits playing from the stereos placed throughout the dining hall over the obnoxiously loud conversations surrounding her. The scrape of utensils and plates against the wooden tables created a cacophony of sharp squeaking, prompting Catra to wince. “I’d rather stab myself with your fork than go to a party full of people from the robotics club. I don’t think I’d fit in,” she admitted.

Scorpia’s eyes flitted down. “Oh, okay. I won’t force you to come with. I was just hoping to have someone there to talk to in case Entrapta is off with her other friends,” she admitted in a low voice.

Catra weighed the options in her mind. Why should she refuse helping out her roommate who had been nothing but kind to her? Especially when she didn’t have anything pressing that she needed to do tonight. Her plans were to get a slushie at the gas station near campus and read up on the roof again. But that might lead to her thinking about Adora, and Catra was _not_ in the mood for those feelings to resurface.

So, she sighed. “Allright, I’ll go.”

The look Scorpia gave her was pure elation as her roommate whipped her head up, the longer strands of her hair flopping in her eyes. She pushed it off her face as she began to talk about the outfits she was thinking of wearing. As she droned on and on, Catra seriously debated stabbing herself with that fork, but instead sat patiently and listened to her roommate describe almost every clothing item in her small dresser.

* * *

Friday night, Catra found herself standing in the basement of her dorm building, surrounded by robotics nerds that did _not_ act how she thought robotics nerds would act. When she and Scorpia arrived, some of the partygoers were taking turns with the largest beer bong she’d ever seen. The guy who was chugging from the bong turned and coughed up most of the beer onto the carpet near the door. Catra squealed and hid behind Scorpia, hoping that idiot didn’t just vomit on her Doc Martens. Scorpia turned to face her and Catra almost laughed at how uncomfortable her roommate appeared. It was clear that she was also not expecting this.

“That’s going to be a pain to clean,” Catra remarked as Scorpia marched over to a corner of the room filled with plush armchairs. A short, lilac-haired girl with olive skin and an excited glint in her eyes waved as they approached. She was talking to a slim girl with pink flowers scattered artfully in her long, wavy blonde hair and a teal-haired girl in a two piece navy and gold outfit with matching high-tops. When the teal-haired girl turned to take in the newcomers, Catra’s heart sank. It was her _RA_ . While she didn’t have a drink in her hand, Catra was obviously a freshman at a party _not_ meant for freshmen. This stupid decision to come with Scorpia could land them both in serious trouble. 

While Catra normally didn’t care about receiving a little disciplinary action, she couldn’t afford any trouble if she wanted to keep her scholarship. In addition to keeping a 3.3 minimum GPA in all psychology classes, the University would halt their funding if she received just one disciplinary infraction. The rules were strict, but Catra needed the money. Plus, if she got kicked out of school, she had no idea where she would go. Now that she was 18, the foster system wouldn’t provide a home for her anymore.

“Hi, Scorpia!” The lilac-haired girl chirped. “Mentos?”

“Hey, Entrapta,” Scorpia responded. “I’d love one.” The girl offered some to Catra but she shook her head.

The blonde who was sitting cross-legged on the floor suddenly stood up and gave them both a hug. Catra tensed in her arms, but it was over as soon as it started. “I’m Perfuma and warning: I’m a bit of a hugger.”

 _There wasn’t much of a warning_ , Catra thought, but Scorpia gasped. “Me too!” Perfuma gave Scorpia a bright smile before sitting back down in a position that looked more suited for a yoga studio than the mediocre basement of a college dorm.

Mermista gave Scorpia and Catra a once-over, a tense silence filling the air, before she waved her hand. “Eh, I don’t want to go through the effort of writing a report. If you drink, just don’t throw up on my hall.”

Catra loosened a breath. 

“Mermista’s our RA,” Scorpia explained and the other two nodded.

“Fascinating!” Entrapta exclaimed, practically bouncing up and down in her seat. “What a unique social dynamic.”

“How do you two know each other?” Perfuma asked Scorpia and Entrapta.

“We’re in the same Linear Algebra class,” Scorpia responded. “How about you guys?”

“Perfuma and I were freshmen roommates until I accidentally set our dorm on fire during one _teensy_ little experiment. They gave me my own room after that,” Entrapta explained.

“And Mermista and I are both RAs so we see each other all the time for meetings,” Perfuma added. “Here, let me show you what non-alcoholic drinks they have.” She stood up and Catra followed her and Scorpia to the table of drinks. While Scorpia asked Perfuma about the types of flowers in her hair, Catra snuck away to find the alcohol. If she was going to be stuck in a basement with a bunch of wild robotics nerds, she might as well enjoy herself a little bit and mooch off their free alcohol. On the other end of the table, Catra founded various liquors and… Coke. The only mixer left was Coke. How long had this party been going on?

Catra poured herself a rum and coke and took a long slip, surveying the room. Although the basement wasn’t that big, the robotics club had crammed about 50 people in there, if Catra had to guess. Like the few high school parties she had been to, there was a group of people that were already drunk and dancing to music from someone’s portable speaker. Then, there were the awkward straight folks attempting to socialize and clutching their drinks but never actually consuming the contents of their cup. Lastly, there were the people that were obviously stoned and were trying to shove a bag of chips down the beer bong.

Catra gulped down more of her drink and pushed through the crowd back to the corner of the room where Entrapta and Mermista sat. She arrived at the same time as Perfuma, who was alone.

“Where’s Scorpia?” Catra inquired.

Mermista shrugged nonchalantly as Perfuma’s brows furrowed. “I thought she was with you,” Perfuma stated.

“She’s over there!” Entrapta remarked and they all turned to look. Indeed, Scorpia stood about a foot taller than most of the partygoers and was quite easy to spot. When the crowd parted, Catra saw a short, gangly boy talking to her. The guy was leaning into Scorpia’s personal space and although she looked extremely uncomfortable, he wouldn’t leave Scorpia alone.

“Oh, she’s talking to a guy,” Perfuma said, sounding slightly disappointed.

“Ugh, Kyle’s the _worst,_ ” Mermista remarked.

Catra had only known Scorpia for a week, and didn’t want to make any assumptions about her sexuality, but she had a feeling that this guy was trying to flirt with Scorpia and her roommate, who was not interested in the slightest, was too polite to excuse herself. 

Catra had no qualms marching up to that Kyle guy and telling him to _fuck off_ , but a better idea popped into her mind. “Hey, Entrapta, how many of those mentos do you have left?”

“Ooh, a science experiment!” Entrapta remarked, following her train of thought faster than the other two who just looked at Catra with confused expressions. Entrapta reached into her jacket pocket to pull out a full roll of mentos. She shoved it in Catra’s palm and Catra made quick work of the wrapping with her nails. She didn’t say anything to the others as she wagged her eyebrows and turned to approach Scorpia and the douchebag.

“At that point I just had no choice but to pull over and help the little guy out,” Kyle was saying and Scorpia nodded politely.

“Yes, but um-” she started and Kyle continued speaking over her.

“That’s why I think of myself as a hunter first but an animal rights activist second.”

Catra wasted no time sneaking around Kyle’s shoulder and nimbly dropping the pack of mentos into his cup. Her gamble paid off - it was indeed coke and rum - as the liquid started to bubble up. Kyle turned to her, confused, and Catra watched as the liquid splashed up on his polo shirt and face.

“You bitch!” He shouted and stormed off like a two-year old.

Catra cackled maniacally as Scorpia looked at her with wide eyes. “Thank you, Wildcat!” she exclaimed.

Catra chose to ignore the use of the nickname she had banned. “Next time just tell him you’re not interested and walk away. You don’t owe him anything,” she told her roommate. 

Scorpia wrung her hands together. “I know, it’s just hard for me to say anything impolite sometimes.”

“What was impolite was him interrupting you and not respecting your space,” Catra retorted. “C’mon, let’s go hang out with your nerd friend, her hippie friend, and our RA.”

They returned to the others and Entrapta looked at Catra with respect, remarking something about a successful experiment. Catra stayed in that corner for the rest of the night. Although Scorpia’s acquaintances were an odd bunch, and Catra was careful not to drink too much in front of her RA, she enjoyed herself. They left well after midnight, Perfuma giving Scorpia one of the flowers from her hair as they parted ways to walk back to their respective dorms. Scorpia blushed as bright as her red nails, and Catra teased her about it for the rest of night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you all think so far!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora makes some friends from track and schemes to try and talk to Catra again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii, here is Chapter 3! No trigger warnings for this chapter.

Before Adora could blink, the first two weeks of college flew by. She began to fall into a regular routine of class, lunch with Glimmer and Bow in the dining hall, a couple hours to study, track practice, and then evenings to call her Nana or hang out with Bow and Glimmer in their dorm lounge. Although Adora had no clue what she was doing when she registered for classes, she was now extremely grateful she had enough foresight to sign up for morning classes, as it gave her plenty of time in the afternoon to complete her assigned readings. Her high school teachers had warned her of the workload but she was still shocked at the amount of pages she was assigned to read every week for her classes.

While she originally thought track practice would be a burden, it turned out to be a _fantastic_ stress reliever. After a short assessment on the first day, the Head Coach assigned Adora to the 800-meter race for the season. She clocked some of her best times on the 800-meter back in high school so she was excited to attempt to beat her personal records. 

Although Adora enjoyed the company of her fellow 800-meter racers, she preferred to warm up with non-runners. In particular, she gravitated towards two of her teammates that didn’t quite fit in with the others. The first was the girl from the soccer ball incident who had approached Adora on the first day of practice and profusely apologized for unintentionally tripping her. Her name was Scorpia and she had an exceptionally strong arm for the shot put. She and Adora would stretch together before splitting off to their respective drills. The second was the guy who Adora saw reciting bad poetry on the quad her first day. He insisted that others call him Sea Hawk and who was Adora to refuse when he kept her laughing with his running commentary on the drama between the other teammates. Whenever she got a break in her drills, she would watch as Sea Hawk tried again and again to clear the high bar on the pole vault.

She should’ve been embarrassed that she was hanging out with the rejects, but Adora was grateful for Scorpia and Sea Hawk’s playful banter and encouraging words. Plus, she was used to being the pariah of the group anyways. Back in middle and high school, her classmates steered clear of her, not wanting to be associated with the orphan girl who got adopted by the slightly-crazy old lady. After a while, Adora had stopped trying to impress the others and hung out with the other outcasts.

Besides helping her forget about school and everything going on with her Nana, track was also a time when she could clear her mind of Catra. She had arrived to chemistry lab that second Friday hoping to talk more with Catra but found the other girl sitting in the back of the classroom next to a muscular girl with shoulder-length brown dreadlocks. Their TA, a grad student named Hordak, then announced that the person they were sitting next to would be their lab partner for the rest of the semester. Adora tried not to grimace at the dark-haired, sweaty boy next to her who didn’t hold a candle to the striking girl with the heterochromatic eyes she had anticipated she’d be paired with.

As soon as Hordak dismissed them, Catra _flew_ out of the classroom, which ruined Adora’s plans to catch her after class. Why didn’t Catra want to talk to her? They had been friends once and parted on good terms when Adora was adopted by Razz. She wished there was a way to find out who adopted Catra, but alas that information was not publicly available. Not that Adora had spent almost four hours scouring the internet for such information or anything.

But track practice was a time when Adora could forget about Catra and just _run._ The challenge of the 800-meter race was all in the pacing. She couldn’t sprint like the runners of the short distance races, but she also couldn’t afford to let her body fall into a comfortable pace like the runners of the 1500-meter races. As soon as she took off from the starting block, she flushed her mind of all her worries and focused on her breathing, the pump of her legs beneath her, the blur of the stands and other racers beside her. If she was lucky, an icy calmness would envelop her, carrying her to the finish line with an almost superhuman endurance.

The first track meet was in two weeks at a college seven hours away. Of course, Bright Moon was paying for hotel rooms for them. Adora wasn’t complaining at _all_. Her dorm bed was uncomfortably small and the water pressure in the community showers was so weak she had to stand under the lukewarm trickle for a solid half an hour if she wanted to actually clean herself. She was not about to pass up the opportunity to sleep in a bed meant for an adult and take a decent, hot shower.

Coach Micah said they needed to sign up in pairs for the hotel rooms, which prompted Adora to saunter over to the shot put area after practice. She slung her track bag over her shoulder, sweating in the late summer air, as she approached Scorpia. Her new friend was finishing up her training routine, so Adora waited patiently.

“Hi, Adora! How was your run?” Scorpia asked after her last throw.

“Good,” she responded. “How was your shot put practice?”

Scorpia picked up the ball, which Adora vaguely remembered was called the shot, and answered, “Great! I just cleared 40 feet with the 8.8-pound shot. Coach Micah says if I keep up the good work I might be able to try the 16-pound shot. Of course, that’s normally just for men, but I think I could handle it.”

“That’s awesome,” Adora gushed, her eyes drawn to the bulge in Scorpia’s biceps as she picked up not one but _two_ shots and carried them over to a storage container. Something about watching the girl show off her incredible strength had Adora warm in a way that could not be blamed on the hot afternoon sun.

“So, uh,” she swallowed hard and looked away. _C’mon, Adora. If you want to be friends with this girl you can’t keep swooning every time you see her flex_. “I was wondering if you wanted to room together at the upcoming meet.” 

“Sure!” Scorpia’s face blossomed into a large smile. She stepped over and gave Adora a bone-crushing hug. “Let’s go tell Coach Micah.”

They walked across the field, dodging Sea Hawk and the other pole vaulters. “College is so fun! I love having a roommate, although mine listens to her music way too loud.” Scorpia chuckled before continuing. “Even though she has her headphones on, I can still hear her music. Sounds like punk rock.”

“Did you know your roommate before college or were you guys randomly placed together?” Adora made conversation. They cleared the field and approached the spot on the track where their Head Coach was talking to an assistant. 

“Random. We are _very_ different people, but she has a good heart. It’s actually that girl from the time that you tripped on the soccer ball- Catra!”

Adora’s world spun before her. 

No. freaking. _way_. 

Another connection to this girl from her childhood? The universe just loved to tease her. 

Although, maybe she could leverage her newfound friendship with Scorpia to get her to convince Catra to stop ignoring Adora. She hated the thought of manipulating or forcing Scorpia to do something she might not be comfortable with, but she wouldn’t be asking _that_ much.

“Hey, girls!” Coach Micah called out, interrupting Adora’s plotting.

“Hi, Coach!” Scorpia responded. “Adora and I wanted to let you know that we’re going to room together for the meet.”

“Perfect,” Micah told them. “Go ahead and put that down on the sign-up sheet if you don’t mind.” He flipped some pages in his clipboard and handed it over to Adora with a pen. She wrote down her name and phone number and then passed it along to Scorpia.

“How’s my Glimmer doing, by the way?” Coach Micah asked.

Adora laughed nervously. “She’s doing well!” When Adora told Glimmer that she was running track, her roommate had deliberately neglected to tell Adora that her _dad_ was the Head Coach of the track team. Instead, Adora found out when Coach Micah introduced himself and mentioned that his daughter was attending Bright Moon. The two did have the same tan skin and thick eyebrows, but Adora didn’t connect the dots until Coach Micah mentioned his surname.

When she confronted Glimmer about it, her roommate admitted that she didn’t want Adora to think that she only got into Bright Moon because of her dad. Nonetheless, she texted him and told him Adora was her roommate. Ever since then, Coach Micah had been extremely friendly towards Adora. She could tell that he was hoping she would tell him if Glimmer got into any trouble, but Adora was no tattletell and Glimmer wasn’t a troublemaker. Although... Glimmer had informed Adora about a crazy plot of hers to sneak into five buildings on campus for some dare she dubbed the ‘Pentagon.’ Adora had no interest in completing such a challenge with Glimmer, but wouldn’t snitch if her roommate participated in any such activities.

“Tell her I say ‘hi,’” Micah smiled at Adora and received the clipboard from Scorpia.

“Will do, sir,” Adora responded politely. 

She and Scorpia bid their farewells to Coach Micah and sauntered down to the locker rooms. Adora slung open her locker door and immediately grabbed her phone. Sure enough, she saw a message from Mara, Nana Razz’s new caretaker.

 **Mara** : Razz is doing well this evening. She made raspberry pie and I had to stop her from shipping some to you in the post. 

Adora typed back, “thank you so much for the update! enjoy the raspberry pie, it’s her best.”

“Hey, we should probably swap numbers if we’re going to be track roomies.”

Adora whipped her head up and saw Scorpia extending her phone in an offering. 

“Definitely.” Adora opened up her contacts app and swapped phones with her teammate. Just for fun, she added the crossed swords emoji after her first name. They returned their respectives phones and Adora went off to take a quick shower. She then rode the bus back to her dorm (because campus was freakin’ _huge_ ) where she found Glimmer pacing back and forth in the small space between their beds. 

“Good, you’re finally back!” she exclaimed.

Adora threw her duffel bag on her bed and crossed her arms. “What’s going on?”

“Next Thursday is Bow’s birthday and I need to plan a party but I have no idea what to do,” Glimmer told her and started to frantically pull at the ends of her short hair.

Adora uncrossed her arms to put her hands on Glimmer’s shoulders. “Hey, I’ll help you. The first thing we need is a solid list of ideas. Lemme grab my notebook.” Glimmer nodded and sat back into her fluffy pillows. Adora walked over to her desk and grabbed her favorite pens and class notebook. She flipped to an empty page as she sat down on Glimmer’s bed, trying not to drown in the pillows. “Okay, let’s start with invitees. How many people are you thinking?”

“Hmm, it doesn’t have to be super big or anything. Bow would be happy if it was just us three watching America’s Next Top Model. But I want to do something nice for him, since he always gives so much to everyone in his life,” Glimmer said. “For his seventeenth, I bought him this really nice red velvet cake and drove him to our favorite lookout over the city. I forgot to bring plates so we just ate the fancy cake with our fingers.” Glimmer stared at a spot on the opposite wall, a faint smile on her lips. Adora couldn’t help but smile along with her.

“I’ll add red velvet cake to the list.” She scribbled it down under a new column labeled ‘Food.’

“Oh, but in terms of guests I’m thinking like twelve or fifteen people? If you want to invite one or two of your track friends, that’s totally fine,” Glimmer turned back to her. She started to rattle off some names, but Adora knew just who she’d invite.

 _Scorpia_ , she scribbled. And next to it: _\+ Catra_.

* * *

“Glimmer, we did a _fantastic_ job,” Adora complimented, surveying their handiwork. What had been nothing more than a dingy dorm lounge three hours ago was now a space fit for Bow’s birthday party. Even though it was larger than what they’d need for their small gathering, Adora had reserved the whole room from their RA, a really sweet girl named Perfuma who had indeed constructed the decorations on Adora and Glimmer’s door. 

After their hard work, string lights adorned three out of the four walls and blue and gold balloons bounced throughout the room. While Glimmer created a photo wall underneath the string lights, Adora moved all the excess furniture to one corner and attempted to stack the chairs and couches so they wouldn’t fall on any partygoers. She’d left a couple plush chairs and one couch near the front of the room so they could all sit down while they undoubtedly played many games. 

One thing Adora was starting to learn about Bow and Glimmer was that they _loved_ games. Board games, card games, party games - you name it. Adora had never really hung out with friends that didn’t just sit on their phones together in the same room. She would always get so bored after refreshing her instagram feed for the tenth time. But, with Bow and Glimmer and their vast collection of games, she hadn’t experienced a dull moment yet.

Glimmer squealed excitedly and Adora laughed. “I’m going to grab the red velvet cake from our mini fridge, but people should be arriving soon!” And with that her pink and purple-haired roommate sprinted from the lounge, leaving Adora alone with her thoughts.

Which, for who knows why, veered towards Catra. She shifted nervously as she remembered Scorpia’s response text promising to bring Catra with her to the party. Adora had spent much longer than normal picking out her outfit for tonight, her hands shaking in anticipation as she pulled her medium-length blonde hair up into her signature ponytail. She was wearing her one good pair of black jeans and had traded her favorite red faux leather jacket for her old jean jacket. It was smaller on her now than it had been when she was 14 and bought it with her allowance, but still boasted several pins from her random obsessions in high school. She fiddled with her ever-favorite pin - a long, rainbow sword with a golden hilt - as she attempted to rationalize why she was so nervous to see her childhood friend.

 _Just because she didn’t sit by you in class doesn’t mean that she’s ignoring you_ , she told herself. _I’m sure she’ll talk to you at the party. There’s no way she can avoid you at such a small gathering_.

The door to the lounge burst open and Adora started. Bow stumbled through, two small hands wrapped around his eyes. His dark gray tank top had a heart embroidered in the center, which was a trend Adora noticed in Bow’s clothing items. He had wrapped a burgundy flannel around the waist of his light blue jeans and sported his classic white high tops with golden laces.

“Okay, ready?” Glimmer’s voice called out from behind him.

“Yes!” Bow exclaimed. The hands disappeared from his face and Adora watched Bow’s eyes widen as he took in the room.

“Aww, you guys!” Bow brought his hands to his cheeks in delight and Adora could swear she saw tears forming in his eyes. “You didn’t have to do all this.”

He turned and enveloped Glimmer in a hug. Over Bow’s shoulder, Glimmer gestured for Adora to join the group hug. She wrapped her arms around her two new friends as Bow sniffled. “ _This_ is why we’re the Best Friends Squad,” he said as they pulled away. He grabbed his glasses out of his pocket and placed them back on his nose.

“I still think we should be called the Glimmer Group,” Glimmer protested.

Bow and Adora shared a look. “Nah, we’re definitely the Best Friends Squad,” Bow responded. Glimmer huffed but didn’t say anything else as she dipped outside of the room for a moment. She returned with a large bakery box and placed it on one of the tables. She must’ve noticed the hungry gleam in Adora’s eyes because she quickly said, “No cake until everyone arrives.”

“But Glimmer,” Adora whined, dragging out the last syllable in her roommate’s name. Glimmer looked up at her with stubborn eyes.

“Don’t even think about it, Adora,” she said in a commanding voice. Glimmer was going to make an excellent lobbyist (or consultant) one day if she used that voice on all the politicians.

The rest of the invitees slowly trickled in: Sea Hawk and someone he introduced as his ‘dearest Mermista.’ The Mermista in question rolled her eyes at this but didn’t correct him. Then along came Starla and Jewel, two of Bow’s friends from high school that went to Bright Moon. Adora didn’t know them, so she stuck by Sea Hawk as several others filtered in. However, Scorpia and Catra were nowhere in sight. 

As Mermista and Sea Hawk began arguing over what flavor cake they thought Glimmer bought, Adora’s eyes kept darting to the door. Finally, she noticed Scorpia’s tall frame gingerly enter the room. Scorpia was followed by a slender figure with a wild mane of cedar-brown hair and a scowl on her face.

 _Catra_.

“It’s red velvet,” Adora told the bickering pair and pushed past them. Catra caught her gaze and seemed to recoil in shock. Adora guessed that Scorpia hadn’t told her who invited her to the party. Adora didn’t let Catra’s reaction deter her as she marched towards the other girl. Before she could get close enough to call out over the music coming through Glimmer’s small speaker, a hand grabbed her elbow.

“Hey, I forgot Codenames in the dorm. Can you go grab it real quick? It’s one of Bow’s favorites,” Glimmer pleaded.

Adora broke eye contact with Catra and turned to her roommate. “Sure. Can I borrow your key, though?”

“You should really get a lanyard or something,” Glimmer scolded her as she pulled off her lanyard and handed it to Adora.

“I know,” Adora mumbled and left the lounge. By the time she returned, everyone had taken seats in the area reserved for gameplay. The only open spot was next to Bow on the big couch. She was honored that he saved that seat for her although it foiled her plans to get close enough to Catra to talk.

“Allright, does everyone know how to play?” Glimmer asked as Adora plopped down on the couch. Only a couple hands went up, so Bow launched into a quick explanation of the game. Since the game was meant for a smaller number of players, they split off into two groups to play simultaneously. The winning teams from each group would play each other. Adora ended up in a group with Bow, Jewel, Starla, Sea Hawk, and Mermista. She was surprised Glimmer and Bow didn’t pair up, but Glimmer said she wanted to make sure that there was at least one experienced player in each group.

They started the game, and Adora quickly caught on to the rules. She truly was enjoying herself, but kept glancing over at Catra. The girl was wearing the same red tank top from the day Adora tripped. Adora noted how the skin-tight fabric clung to Catra’s abdomen, showing off her compact curves and delicate yet strong physique. She had also expertly applied dark eyeliner that curled up around her almond-shaped eyes to mimic her long eyelashes. Adora found herself drawn to the way those eyelashes flicked up and down as Catra glanced between the board and Scorpia across the table from her. 

“Hey, Adora, it’s our turn,” Bow said and snapped her out of her reverie. She returned to the game, where Bow and her beat Jewel and Starla in a decisive victory. They played Mermista and Sea Hawk next, who were unstoppable. They had so many inside jokes that one time Mermista just said “fire” and Sea Hawk pointed to four cards: a boat, a diploma, an office building, and a spider. Adora did _not_ want to know what Sea Hawk had done to those four items to warrant such a quick response.

After they were eliminated, Adora glanced over at Bow. “Cake time?”

“Cake time,” he agreed with a devilish grin on his face.

Glimmer made them all pause their games and sing to Bow, who blushed when Glimmer leaned over and kissed him on the cheek at the end of the song. The rest of the night went smoothly, as they played more games and ate even more cake. But, throughout all of it, Catra managed to avoid Adora. When they split off into teams for games, Catra always picked the one that Adora wasn’t on, and never sat directly across from or next to her. Adora was growing increasingly frustrated at her former friend’s behavior. Why did Catra go to such lengths to evade her? Would it really be so terrible if she ended up talking to Adora?

They eventually finished up their last game and everyone dispersed to carry out random side conversations. Adora strategically positioned herself on the ground next to the couch where Glimmer was valiantly attempting to bond with Catra and Scorpia. Although Adora engaged lightly in conversation with Starla and Jewel, all her attention remained on the girls seated on the couch behind her.

“What did you guys do for your last birthday?” Glimmer asked politely.

“My moms took me to see Hamilton on Broadway,” Scorpia admitted and Glimmer gasped.

“Holy shit, that’s fucking amazing!” Glimmer exclaimed. As much as Adora’s roommate was sweet and caring, she could have a mouth like a sailor sometimes. Especially on topics she was extremely passionate about, like musicals.

Scorpia chuckled. “It really was. What about you, Catra?”

Adora heard Catra grunt. “Eh, I was probably working or some shit.”

“Didn’t your foster parents do anything for you?” Scorpia prompted and Adora almost dropped her third piece of cake. Catra was still in the foster system when she turned 18? She never got adopted?

“They reminded me that as soon as I graduated high school I had to get the hell out of their house,” Catra spat out.

There was an awkward silence between the three before Glimmer excused herself to go check on Bow. “I’m gonna get some fresh air,” Adora heard Catra tell Scorpia. “Be right back.”

As soon as Catra was out the door, Adora jumped up. This was her opportunity to finally catch Catra alone and ask the other girl why she was being so evasive. She rushed out of the room and peered through the windows that overlooked a small quad. Catra had climbed up the back of a bench to perch in a slightly precarious position. Adora opened the door and the cool evening air teased at her ponytail. She drew her jean jacket closer to her and walked over to the bench. Catra gave no indication that she heard Adora as she drew her legs tight to her chest. Seriously, how was she not falling off the back of the bench?

“Hey,” Adora said and Catra’s head snapped over to her. Annoyance flashed in her eyes for a brief moment but then she relaxed. She let out a clipped laugh.

“I should’ve known you were going to follow me,” she stated matter-of-factly. “You’ve been glaring daggers at me all night.”

Adora crossed her arms and stood in front of the bench. “If I have, it’s only because _you’ve_ been ignoring me.” She winced at how childish she sounded.

A slow, wry smile spread on Catra’s face as she placed her hand on her chest, pretending to be hurt. “Me? Avoiding someone I don’t want to talk to? _That_ is some fake news.”

Adora rolled her eyes as a particularly strong gust of wind whipped free several strands of her ponytail. “I think we should talk,” she offered.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Catra snapped at her. 

Adora’s frustration grew as Catra looked at her with malice. She took a deep breath before saying, in what she thought was a calming voice, “I didn’t know you were never adop-- that you stayed in the foster system.”

Catra released her legs and placed her hands next to her on the back of the bench seat, revealing nails painted a deep onyx. In the weird angle from the fluorescent light above the building’s back door, shadows created the illusion of pointed claws stemming from Catra’s fingers.

“Why does it matter to you?” Catra threw back.

“Well, uh,” Adora stumbled over her words for a moment before she got out, “I was thinking that since we were friends back at Weaver’s maybe we could, I don’t know, be friends again? I’m not close with anyone else from the Fright Zone that came here. It’s nice to see a familiar face.”

Catra jerked a thumb in the direction of the dorm. “Looks like you already have a lot of friends.” She leaped off the back of the bench, deliberately creating space between them. “Don’t bother with me.”

Adora was expecting venom behind those words but all she heard was indifference. Which was somehow _much_ , much worse. Catra stalked back into the building and Adora didn’t bother to try and stop her. She stayed out on the lawn for a little while, her body suddenly numb to the cold, and replayed Catra’s words over and over again. She finally concluded that she would respect the other girl’s wishes and keep her distance. Even if it hurt her to do so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry- Adora doesn't have a crush on Scorpia, she's just admiring those muscles ;) Feel free to let me know what you all are thinking so far!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hordak provides Catra and Adora with an opportunity to save their grades on one condition: that they work together to complete the assignments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone that's been reading and leaving kudos! you are the best *mwah*  
> We're finally getting to the central plot in this chapter so enjoy!  
> TW: BPD episode, mentions of potential child abuse but it's not shown

_Catra sprinted through the empty halls of Weaver’s Home for Troubled Girls, fear pulsing through her with each heartbeat. She didn’t think that calling Mother Octavia a ‘dumb-face’ would prompt the nun to pull out a switch and close in on an eight-year old girl. Catra ran before she was struck, but couldn’t shake the paranoia that Mother Octavia was hot on her trail._

_She ran as quickly as she could past the classrooms, the small chapel, and the nuns’ quarters. The hallways were full of portraits of previous Wardens and paintings of religious scenes. Catra hadn’t been at Weaver’s long enough to recognize any of the scenes from the stories the nuns recounted to them in mandatory daily chapel. In her opinion, most of the paintings were dull and lifeless, always depicting serious figures in such dark colors. Her favorite, which was the only one that portrayed a smiling face, hung just above the door to the younger girls’ dormitory. Catra passed underneath it as she ran into the spacious room._

_She pushed past all the girls leisurely brushing their hair and unfolding their tightly-tucked bedsheets. Although the nuns would turn off the lights at precisely 9:00pm every night, most girls milled around until the last possible second. Catra dodged girls sitting on the edges of their beds gossiping and sped towards the two beds in the far corner. She preferred the one by the window while her new best friend, Adora, occupied the other. As Catra approached, Adora was seated upon her bed, flipping through the thin pages of one of the books from the nuns’ approved reading list._

_“Adora!” Catra shrieked and jumped up on the bed next to her friend. She buried her face into her friend’s shoulder and sniffled, fighting the tears that were threatening to spill over her cheeks._

_“Catra? What’s wrong?” Adora’s voice was rife with worry._

_“Mother Octavia wants to smack me with her switch!” Catra cried out._

_Adora gently lifted Catra’s head out of the crook of her shoulder, her blue-grey eyes narrowed in concern. “Why? What happened?”_

_“Nothing!” Catra initially protested, but her guilt quickly overpowered her. Before she could stop herself she blurted out, “Well, maybe I called her a dumb-face, but that was only ‘cause she has a dumb face!”_

_Adora glanced frantically in the direction of the door to the dormitory. “Where is she?”_

_“I don’t know, I just ran. I was so scared,” Catra admitted and felt the tears well up in her eyes again. She grabbed an exceptionally long strand of her untamed hair and unceremoniously swiped underneath her eyes before anyone else could see her. She didn’t want the other girls to make fun of her and call her a sissy for crying. The only person she felt comfortable displaying vulnerability around was this dorky, blonde girl who had_ _offered up p_ _art of her cookie to Catra the first night Catra arrived at Weaver’s._

 _“Okay, here’s what we’ll do,” Adora said, chopping one hand down in the palm of the other. “We’ll wait until lights out and sneak into Mother Octavia’s office to steal her switch. That way she can’t hurt you. I_ won’t _let her hurt you.”_

 _A dozen thoughts raced through Catra’s brain:_ What if we get caught? What if she brings her switch with her to bed and it's not in her office?

 _But the central thought that repeatedly slammed against her skull was directed at Adora:_ Why are you being so nice to me?

_Catra nodded and her friend grinned at her, displaying a missing front tooth. The two changed into their pajamas and brushed their teeth- all without any sign of Mother Octavia or her switch. About half an hour after they climbed into bed, Catra hissed, “Adora?”_

_“I’m awake,” Adora tried to whisper back but her voice carried through the dormitory. One of the other girls turned in her bed, and Catra held her breath. She waited for what felt like an eternity before she asked, “Should we go now?”_

_Adora climbed out of bed and nodded. She put a finger to her lips, prompting Catra to burst into giggles. Catra stepped forward and reached out her hand, Adora’s fingers quickly intertwining with hers. They crept out of the dormitory as one, and Catra was grateful none of the other girls stirred long enough to ask them where they were going. They silently strode down the dim hallways towards Mother Octavia’s office. When they arrived, Catra reluctantly let go of her friend’s hand to try and open the door. It didn’t budge._

_“It’s locked!” she whispered._

_“I’ve got this,” Adora responded confidently. She pulled out the pin that kept her bangs neatly pressed against the top of her head and attempted to jiggle it into the lock. Catra turned so her back pressed against Adora’s, scanning the hallway in case any of the nuns walked by._

_After a minute or two, Catra got bored of waiting for Adora to pick the lock. She turned around and saw her friend furiously attempting to shove the pin in the lock. “Ugh, do you have it already?” Catra complained._

_“Almost got it,” Adora responded._

_Catra reached out and grabbed the pin from Adora’s grasp. “Let me try, you’ve been trying too long.”_

_“No, Catra, I can do this,” Adora protested, snatching the pin back. They wrestled for it until Catra suddenly let go and Adora fell backwards, letting out a small screech. Catra jumped on top of her and grabbed the pin from where it had fallen on the floor._

_“Ha ha, I win,” she smirked._

_In the distance, a loud ‘click’ reverberated throughout the hall, followed by the overhead lights flickering on. Catra panicked and scrambled off her friend. She had briefly forgotten that they needed to be quiet for their operation to be successful. Now, they were going to get caught just because Catra wanted a turn at picking the lock._

_“Who’s out there?” a voice called out. Catra glanced down at Adora, who seemed frozen in panic._

_“C’mon!” Catra whispered and Adora snapped out of her paralysis, leaping to her feet. She and Catra scrambled up the stairs to the older girls’ dormitory. They wrenched open the door and didn’t bother to be quiet as they slammed it shut. Several of the girls shifted in their sleep, but Catra didn’t care if_ they _found out what she and Adora were up to- as long as the_ nun _they’d awoken didn’t find out._

_Catra took off for the closest empty bed, Adora beside her._

_“This one!” Adora hissed in what was probably as close to as whisper as she could get. Catra scrambled into the bed after Adora, burrowing down underneath the blankets to lie at Adora’s feet so her friend would appear taller. From beneath the sheets, Catra heard the creak of the door opening, then footsteps approaching. As the nun paced back and forth along the length of the room, Catra’s heart raced so loud in her chest she swore the nun could hear it through the blankets._

_But, the footsteps didn’t falter as they passed Adora and Catra’s hiding spot. They faded away until Catra heard the door creak open again. After it slid shut, a voice called out, “What the_ hell _is going on?”_

_Catra peaked her head out from underneath the covers. The girl in the bed next to them was frowning at the two eight year olds, her hair stuck up at odd angles. Catra shared a glance with Adora and they both started giggling uncontrollably. At one point, Adora tried to explain the situation to the girl but then Catra giggled, setting her off again, and they both collapsed in laughter. The girl just rolled her eyes and turned the other way, pulling her pillow on top of her ears._

_Although they hadn’t found Mother Octavia’s switch, Catra felt safer than ever as she fell asleep in the older girls’ dormitory, Adora’s soft snores in her ear._

* * *

Catra skipped chem lab the morning after Bow’s party. And the next Friday after that. It wasn’t that she was afraid of seeing Adora again. She just had a sinking feeling that Adora wouldn’t listen to Catra’s request to leave her alone and would try to talk to her about Weaver’s or some stupid childhood shit. Why couldn’t Adora wrap her mind around the fact that they were both vastly different people than they were ten years ago? Just because they were friends once didn’t mean that they should be friends again.

Unfortunately, they were starting to run in similar social circles. Bow’s party was evidence enough of that. It was just Catra’s luck that the friends she’d made so far in college also happened to be friends with Adora. The worst offender of them all was Scorpia, who Catra considered her closest friend. She would hang out with Adora at track practice and even roomed with Adora during their track meet.

“I don’t know why you don’t like her,” Scorpia said when she returned. She was seated on her bed, unpacking various clothing items from her travel bag, while Catra sprawled out on her own bed. “She’s really sweet.”

“I just don’t like her, okay?” Catra had snapped. She whipped out her headphones and placed them on her ears, turning so she faced the wall instead of Scorpia’s bed. Her roommate left her alone after that.

However, when the third Friday after Bow’s party came around, Catra pulled herself out of bed for the eight am lab. She felt slightly guilty as she took her seat next to her lab partner, Lonnie, who had been doing the work for the both of them for the past two weeks. When Catra donned her lab coat and goggles, Lonnie gave her a stern look before setting her gaze on her phone screen, obviously not intending to participate in the experiment.

 _Yep, I deserve that_ , Catra thought. She sighed and began reading through the instructions.

Over the course of the three hours, she stumbled through the experiment but didn’t once ask Lonnie for help. If Lonnie had endured this, so would she. By the time Hordak announced their class was over, Catra had only completed half of the steps required for the experiment. She’d either have to fabricate the rest of the answers, or find them online. Lonnie didn’t meet Catra’s eyes as she shucked her lab coat and goggles and left the lab. 

Catra began to clean up her lab station, the chatter of the other students washing over her. Maybe after this she’d text Scorpia and see if her roommate would grab breakfast with her in the dining hall. Or maybe she’d go check out the botanical gardens which, according to Mermista, were full of benches and grassy areas for students to chill. Catra already had one of Double Trouble’s books in her bag that she’d been meaning to start for a while, so she figured she’d explore the gardens for a nice, private reading spot.

The jarring sound of a metal chair scraping against the linoleum floor interrupted her thoughts. Catra looked up and watched their TA push his chair aside and step in front of his table at the front of the classroom. “Adora, Catra,” Hordak called out. “I need to speak with you both before you leave.”

Catra’s stomach sank. She’d had a feeling the dark-haired grad student might chastise her for her recent absences, but why did he also want to speak with Adora? From Catra’s brief interactions with the blonde, she could tell Adora wasn’t the type to skip class.

She didn’t think too hard about it as she hastily placed the freshly cleaned beakers back in their cabinets and removed her protective gear. She strode to the front of the classroom where Hordak had returned to his seat, his hands folded up on the table in front of him. Adora stood in front of the table and glanced nervously over at Catra, worry evident in her eyes. Some small part of Catra yearned to reach out and soothe the other girl with a soft squeeze of her hand. She quickly shut down that bizarre urge and glared at their TA with nothing less than complete ferocity.

“Now that we have completed one third of the semester, I wanted to make you two ladies aware of the fact that you both are failing this class,” Hordak said with almost deadly calmness. Catra swore she heard Adora’s breath catch in a small gasp. “Catra, although your lab partner has put your name on each report, I know you’ve been absent from class these past two weeks. It’s a small classroom, and I see everything.”

“I’ve been sick,” Catra lied.

“Sure,” Hordak responded, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He then turned his head to Adora and practically grinned as he stated, “And Adora, you have given a valiant effort, but your grasp of the course material is lacking. It’s truly surprising that you made it to the university level.”

Catra’s anger started to boil up underneath her skin. So what if Adora wasn’t the brightest in the class? This stuck-up grad student had no right to talk to her like that. 

“Now, the university has informed me that you both are on scholarship, is that correct?”

Adora nodded vigorously as Catra rolled her eyes. Did he have to be such a dick about this? 

There was a silence as Hordak waited for her to respond, so Catra put her hand on her hip and spat out, “Yes. So?”

Hordak ‘tsked’ in disapproval but didn’t comment on her venomous response. “To keep your scholarships, you must remain full-time students. That means failing or withdrawing from this class is not an option. Since I am also a student, I understand how… _difficult_ certain subjects can be to the untrained mind,” he drawled. “Lucky for you two, I’ve decided to offer extra credit. If you wish to participate in the extra credit assignments, you should report to this lab every Saturday morning for the rest of the semester, or until your grades rise above a 70.”

Catra gritted her teeth. The universe had to be punishing her for some unknown reason. Saturdays with _Adora_ ? Doing _chemistry work_? She debated dropping out of school right then and there just to avoid what was bound to be a deeply uncomfortable situation.

“Thank you, sir,” Adora sighed. “I promise I’ll get my grade up soon.”

Hordak sat forward in his chair and ran a hand through his slicked-back mohawk. His unusually hollow cheeks contrasted greatly with his large ears and chin. Catra feld nothing but abhorrence towards him as his piercing green eyes flicked back and forth between her and Adora.

“Maybe I wasn’t clear enough. Since all of our lab assignments require two participants, you must work together on the extra credit assignments until _both_ of you are passing the class. I’ll see you at eight am tomorrow morning for the first iteration of this gracious opportunity.”

He waved his hand in dismissal, an impish grin on his face, and Catra seethed in outrage. Involuntarily, she scrunched up her shoulders and balled her hands into fists. Hordak raised an eyebrow at her - a silent challenge. He was daring her to disobey, to reject her only opportunity to keep her scholarship. 

And _oh_ did Catra want to reject it. In that moment, she could think of nothing she wanted more than to lean across the table, grab Hordak’s collar, and slap him across the face.

But she couldn’t. She needed to pass this class or else she’d lose her scholarship and, with it, her best chance at becoming a social worker. She just wanted to ensure orphans like her didn’t have to suffer during their time in the foster system. Once she had her degree, she planned to implement more rigorous screening for foster families and raise money to pay for counseling for all foster kids. 

And if she lost her scholarship… she’d likely never go to college again. She had no money to pay for tuition, no family to rely on to pay her bills. She worked tirelessly all throughout high school, but ended up spending most of that money on the studio apartment she moved to after her foster family kicked her out of their house. Those three months after her high school graduation and before the beginning of college had awarded Catra a glimpse into the real world. She had no desire to return to a life where she could barely afford groceries, which meant she needed to secure her scholarship at all costs.

 _This is all your fault_ , a voice in her head echoed. _If you hadn’t been a coward and tried to avoid Adora, none of this would’ve happened_.

Catra felt the tears welling up in her eyes. Before either Hordak or Adora could see, she stormed out of the classroom. She didn’t care how childish she appeared, she had to get away before she broke down. When she got like this, there was no stopping the flood of tears or the darkness that welled up to consume her whole. She stumbled to the bathroom and collapsed in the first stall, her tears flowing freely.

 _You’re such a coward_ , the voice repeated. _A coward, a coward!_

The voice, _her_ voice she realized with a start, was so loud. She covered her ears as if that might block it out, but it continued, unrelenting in its torture.

 _This is all your fault._ Your _fault._

The door to the bathroom slammed open as someone strode in. From her position on the tiled bathroom floor, Catra peered through the small gap in between the stall door and the wall. She glimpsed a red leather jacket and blonde ponytail.

_Shit._

She reigned in her sobs and held her breath, desperately willing Adora to turn around and leave.

“Catra, I know you’re in there,” Adora said pointedly.

Catra let out a breath that turned into a choked sob. She pulled her legs tight to her chest and buried her face in her lap. As much as she did _not_ want Adora to see her in this state, she couldn’t control her body when her emotions took over like this. So, she rode out the wave of desperation that crashed through her until she could breathe properly again and her tears dried up. 

When she bothered to lift her head, her eyes were immediately drawn to the space in between the bottom of the stall door and the floor where Adora’s red jacket leaned against the stall. Adora was still here? And, more surprisingly, she hadn’t tried to talk to Catra?

Catra clawed at the toilet paper and used it to wipe her face clean. She tossed it in the toilet next to her head, but didn’t stand up to flush it down. Instead, she splayed her palms out on the floor, transferring her overwhelming heat and absorbing its steady coolness. The sharp bite of the frigid tile seeped into her skin and helped focus her mind. Unfortunately, this led her to feel even more self-conscious about the fact that Adora had remained on the other side of the door throughout her breakdown.

The silence between them grew into a deafening roar. Catra took a deep breath and began, “Can he even do this?” She hated how scratchy her voice sounded, but it was no secret to Adora that she’d just been crying.

Catra heard rustling as Adora shifted her legs. “I’m not sure,” she replied in a voice that was unbearably soft, as if _she_ had just been the one crying.

“He’s just a grad student. There’s no way he can force one of us to keep showing up once we’ve gotten our _own_ grade back up to a 70,” Catra pushed.

“I can email the professor and ask,” Adora suggested. “Although Dr. Prime doesn’t seem any more lenient than Hordak.”

Catra sighed, suddenly exhausted, and pulled her phone out of her pocket to check the time. It had been an hour since the lab ended. Adora had stayed with her that whole time? Catra knew she should be annoyed that Adora hadn’t respected her privacy, but instead a deep surge of gratitude swelled in her chest. Adora had remained quiet throughout Catra’s breakdown and hadn’t tried to offer any stuipd words of encouragement. Somehow she knew that just her presence was needed, nothing more. Adora was much more emotionally astute than Catra originally thought.

“Why were you really absent these past two weeks?” Adora inquired.

Catra let out a sharp laugh. “You know why.”

Silence enveloped them, and Catra wrapped her arms around herself again.

“Guess your color-coded note-taking hasn’t been much of a help,” she teased.

Adora groaned in frustration. “Ugh, unfortunately not. Science has never been my strong suit. I was hoping that as an Anthropology major I wouldn’t have to take chemistry again in college but here we are.”

Catra was familiar with that frustration, as she often complained to Scorpia about the amount of introductory classes she was forced to take even though she’d already declared a major.

“Look, there’s nothing we can do about tomorrow, but why don’t we both look into the school’s policy on extra credit assignments?” Adora proposed. “Once we have enough proof that Hordak can’t make us come in on a Saturday, I’ll email Dr. Prime.”

Catra appreciated her cool logic. “Or at least enough proof that he can’t keep both of us once _one_ of us is passing the class,” she added.

“Yeah,” Adora agreed. She slowly rose to her feet. From the space underneath the stall door, Catra watched Adora pick up her backpack. “I know we’re not friends, and I promise that I won’t push anything during our extra credit sessions, but if you ever need to talk about anything… I’m available.”

Catra hated how vulnerable she felt in that moment. Her pride made her want to bury her head in her lap and never talk to Adora again. But, she summoned all her courage and uttered, “Thanks.”

“See you tomorrow,” Adora called out as she exited the bathroom. As soon as she left, Catra felt the tears well up again. But she pushed them down this time. She was done crying for the day. Instead, she needed to find a way to get out of the stupid extra credit assignment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come find me on tumblr: I'm heartofmara over there too


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora and Catra complete their first extra credit assignment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: mentions of dementia

Adora didn’t get as much sleep as she’d hoped the night before her first extra credit assignment. She and Bow stayed up until the early hours of the morning scouring Bright Moon University’s website for any information on the official policies regarding extra credit assignments, scholarship requirements, or standard scheduling times for classes. In particular, she’d never been asked to attend class on a Saturday before, and hoped there was some rule that prevented professors and their TAs from requiring students to show up on the weekends. 

After hours of endlessly searching, the only useful piece of information she and Bow could find pertained to her scholarship. It appeared her arrogant TA had been correct when he said Adora’s scholarship required her to keep a full-time student status. Since Bright Moon’s add-drop period had long passed, Adora couldn’t transfer to any other classes. If she wanted to keep her scholarship, she had to stay in Intro to Chemistry.

Which wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if Adora wasn’t stuck with her standoffish former friend who had, frankly, told her to _piss off_.

As she and Bow laid on the floor of the dorm lounge, empty chip bags spread between them, he kept throwing out suggestions.

“What if you email Dr. Prime without citing any official school documents? Maybe he could still talk to that annoying grad student for you.”

Adora sat up briefly to grab the closest chip bag. That one, like the other five bags, was picked clean. She groaned in frustration and flopped back down on her stomach. “I would do that but I don’t want to sound ungrateful. Like ‘Hey, Dr. Prime. I’m failing your class and your creepy TA offered me an extra credit assignment but I don’t want to go because the girl I’ll be paired with used to be my friend but now wants nothing to do with me’?”

Bow frowned from where he rested, his head propped up on his hoodie to face her. “Well, you could word it differently than that.”

“I know,” Adora relented. “I appreciate the suggestion.”

Bow reached over and placed his hand on her arm. He offered her a reassuring smile before he broke into a big yawn. “As much as I want to help you with this, Adora, I don’t think there’s anything else we can do tonight.”

Adora opened her mouth to protest, but her body betrayed her and she yawned instead.

Bow laughed and slowly pushed himself off the floor. “We can do some more research tomorrow. I’m picking Glimmer up around ten, and I know she’ll be willing to help out too.”

Adora took a deep breath and began gathering up their trash. Since Glimmer’s parents lived near the university, she and her dad had driven home earlier that night to get dinner with her mom. Adora didn’t want to bother Glimmer while she was spending time with her family, so she hadn’t texted her about the scenario. She had then asked Bow if he would refrain from doing so as well. She was slightly afraid he wouldn’t listen, since he had been Glimmer’s friend before he was her’s, but he had deliberately put his phone away when they started researching and hadn’t checked it since.

Adora threw all the chip bags away and powered off her laptop. She’d been awake for _way_ too long and had to be awake in another - she checked her phone - five hours. She bade Bow goodnight, thanking him again, and stumbled back to her dorm. Luckily she hadn’t forgotten her key, so she easily unlocked the door and collapsed onto her bed.

When her alarm blasted into her dreams _less_ than five hours later, Adora regretted every life decision that had led to that point. She was accustomed to waking up early, especially for track practice before high school. She had even fallen into a routine of waking up relatively early on weekends just to keep her sleep schedule somewhat consistent. But, she always went to bed early enough to get a full eight hours of rest before she had to wake up.

College, she was starting to realize, did not offer her the same luxuries.

She didn’t bother showering or changing her clothes, but did slap on some more deodorant and brush her teeth in the community bathroom before leaving the dorm. She just had to make it through three hours of whatever lab assignment Hordak prepared for them and then she could return to her dorm and sleep for as long as she wished. She could handle that.

Campus was eerily devoid of students as she made her way to the chemistry labs. She’d never walked around campus this early on a Saturday before and was surprised to see several families meandering through the quad. Dew frosting the tips of the grass splashed against her ankles as she weaved around a man throwing a tennis ball for his large, fluffy dog. He whooped as the dog leapt into the air and caught the ball. Adora couldn’t help but smile as the dog excitedly ran back to its owner.

She exited the quad area and trudged down a path strewn with metal benches painted a gaudy yellow. When she spotted an elderly couple sitting on one of those benches, steaming beverages clutched tightly in their hands, she realized that Mara hadn’t texted her about Nana Razz the night before. The nurse always texted on Tuesdays and Fridays with updates about Razz, even if it was just to say “she’s doing well.” But, last night, Mara hadn’t sent Adora anything.

She tried not to panic as she double - then _triple -_ checked her message feed from Mara to make sure she hadn’t missed anything. When she didn’t see any new messages, she frantically typed, “hi, Mara! How is nana doing?”

She hit ‘send’ and hurried towards the chemistry lab. Although she arrived less than two minutes after she sent the message, she checked her phone again before she stepped inside the building. No response. 

That shouldn’t have surprised Adora given the fact that she’d sent a text over at 7:53am on a Saturday morning. Mara was likely still sleeping and had simply forgotten to text Adora last night. Once she woke, she would see Adora’s message and tell her that everything was fine. That _had_ to be the case because Adora would never forgive herself if something had happened to her Nana while she was gone.

She tried her best to shove her worries about her Nana down into the recesses of her mind as she swung open the door. The building smelled strongly of cleaning supplies and the carpeted lounge area by the coffee shop appeared freshly vacuumed. Although she didn’t drink coffee much, Adora desperately wished the little café was open this morning. 

The golden rays of morning light slipped through the windows, creating a checkered pattern on the linoleum floor as she marched down the main hallway. She wondered if Catra had spent the previous night like she had- frantically searching for some school policy that dictated Hordak couldn’t force them to come to class on a Saturday, even for an extra credit assignment.

Adora could understand how Catra, who had skipped class lately, was failing the class, but she was still truly shocked that she was failing as well. She and her lab partner had completed every assignment, and she had studied for all the pop quizzes. She resolved to find her lab partner in Dr. Prime’s lecture on Monday and ask if he was failing the class too. Although, the fact that he wasn’t forced to come in on a Saturday like she was prompted her to assume his grade was just fine.

When she reached the lab, she anxiously checked her phone one last time. Again- no response from Mara. She sighed and pushed open the door. Hordak, wrapped in a long, navy coat, stood at the front of the classroom. He tilted his head to observe Adora as she strode into the room. Catra was nowhere to be seen and, honestly, Adora wasn’t too surprised about that. She figured the probability of Catra actually showing up that morning was pretty low.

“Morning,” she greeted Hordak, who seemed keen to just stand there and watch her. 

_Creep_.

“Good morning, Adora,” he replied crisply.

Adora set her bag on the floor underneath the lab table and situated herself on the stool closest to the aisle. Hordak had already placed several beakers and graduated cylinders, amongst other tools, on the table. In the middle of all the lab materials sat a hefty stack of bound papers. Adora glanced over and saw instructions written upon the first page. She swallowed. There was no way Hordak would design their extra credit to be more difficult and extensive than their class assignments, would he?

Before she could clarify any of that with him, the door burst open and Catra stormed in. If Adora thought _she_ looked exhausted, she was nothing compared to Catra. Catra’s wild mane of cedar-brown hair stuck up in almost every direction and deep purple bags hung underneath her eyes. She brushed past Adora to sit on the other stool and didn’t meet either Adora’s or Hordak’s gaze as she took in the contents of the table.

“I’m pleased to see both of you are interested in improving your grade for this class,” Hordak began. “The lab manual is on the table, along with any materials you might need for the experiment.” He glanced down at his watch, then back over at them. “I’ll be back in three hours to see your progress.”

“Wait,” Adora blurted out before their TA could walk away. “You’re not going to supervise us?”

Hordak tried to shrug indifferently, but the move was too calculated, too deliberately cruel to pass as nonchalant. “Just because you two are failing doesn’t mean that _I_ am going to miss out on my Saturday morning commitments. I’ll be back at eleven.”

And with that he strode out of the classroom. Adora was still reeling when Catra reached for the instructions.

“Fuck,” Catra grunted as she flipped through the pages. “Are we supposed to do all of this before he gets back?”

Adora didn’t know how to respond. She needed to consider her words carefully when it came to Catra. She still hadn’t fully processed everything that happened yesterday, including Catra’s breakdown. While the other girl had explicitly told her to stay away, Adora couldn’t just leave her alone when Catra had stormed out of the lab without an explanation, tears brimming in the corners of her eyes. For some unknown reason, Adora had felt a tug in her gut that urged her to follow Catra and comfort her. That impulse outweighed any reservations she had about defying Catra’s orders.

“Uh, I,” Adora stumbled. “I hope not.”

Catra snapped her head over to Adora and fixed her with a sharp look. Unlike Hordak’s leering gaze, Catra gazed upon Adora with curiosity and a twinge of… concern? Adora had to be imagining things because she doubted Catra actually cared for her well-being.

She must’ve been staring too long, because Catra’s face fixed into a smirk. “Cat got your tongue?” Catra teased. 

For some unknown reason, Adora felt a flush creep up on the back of her neck from Catra’s coy taunt. She reached out and snatched the instruction packet from the other girl. As she flipped through the pages, she noticed many unfamiliar terms and several confusing diagrams. “Let’s just try and get as much done as we can,” she suggested.

“Sounds good, princess,” Catra said and Adora felt herself flush even more. When Catra laughed, she realized that the other girl had purposely used that nickname to evoke such a response out of her. 

She turned away from Catra to retrieve two coats and sets of goggles from the back of the classroom. She returned and shrugged her coat on, stifling a yawn. She then began to shuffle through the materials Hordak provided while Catra read through the instructions.

“Obtain zero-point-one grams of powdered zinc and iodine. Examine the samples of zinc and iodine. Note their appearance and physical properties in your lab notebook,” Catra read off the page. “Ugh, this already sounds super boring.”

“Agreed,” Adora muttered as she grabbed her lab notebook from her backpack and flipped to an empty page. “What do the samples look like?” she asked as she uncapped a deep blue pen. Although she wrote her own notes with a variety of colored pens, Hordak had given them strict instructions to only use blue or black ink for their lab notebooks.

“I don’t know, powdery?” Catra grumbled. Adora huffed and looked up from the notebook to see Catra reclining on her stool, the samples still in their jars on the table. Adora had no clue how she looked so relaxed while leaning on a backless stool. 

_She must have a strong core_ , the athlete in her thought. Before her brain could tell her not to, her eyes glanced down at the stomach of Catra’s red tank top. Sure enough, the skin-tight shirt showed off a slender stomach that wasn’t straining from holding her upper body in the precarious position. 

Adora quickly averted her gaze, not wanting to have _that_ conversation if Catra caught her staring, and grabbed the samples.

“Powdered zinc is bluish-gray and iodine is white,” Adora spoke aloud as she wrote. She glanced up at Catra when she was done and saw the cedar-haired girl smirking at her, revealing a dimple in her left cheek. She appeared all too content to watch Adora conduct the experiment without her.

“You’re going to have to get your hands dirty at some point, you know,” Adora chided. “We’re supposed to be working on this together.”

Catra slid off the stool in one graceful motion and set the manual down. “I’m not afraid of some powdered zinc,” she scoffed. She grabbed a graduated cylinder and began measuring out the materials. They quickly fell into an effective routine where Catra read the instructions, the two of them completed the task together, and then Adora wrote down the results. Almost an hour passed without any snide remarks or taunting nicknames from either of them.

Eventually, they reached a point in the experiment where they had to wait for the hot plate to warm up. Adora took the opportunity to check her phone for a response from Mara. Unfortunately, the nurse hadn’t yet replied. Adora sighed and leaned onto the table with her forearms, imagining how amazing it would feel to slam her face into the pillows of her dorm bed once they finished the lab.

“What do you think Hordak is doing right now? Didn’t he say he had ‘Saturday morning commitments'?” Catra asked, snapping Adora out of her daydreams.

“I don’t know,” Adora responded. “He’s probably off stealing candy from babies.”

“Or harassing some barista about how his venti black coffee with two splashes of almond milk isn’t _precisely_ 190 degrees like he requested.”

Adora snorted. “He’s a weird guy. By the way, I tried looking into school policy on extra credit assignments. I didn’t find much, but I’m still planning on emailing Dr. Prime at some point to see if we can get out of this.”

Catra nodded. “I also tried looking, but I doubt I was as thorough as you, princess.”

Adora huffed. “Do you call all the girls that or am I just special?”

“Oh, just you,” Catra remarked, her smirk returning. Adora knew that she could be dense sometimes when it came to romance, but Catra calling her that sounded like she was flirting with her. Adora didn’t know if Catra was into girls, and even if she was, she was obviously just carelessly flirting with Adora to get a rise out of her. So, Adora should _not_ overthink it like she tended to do.

“It’s because princesses get happy endings and you got yours,” Catra said in a less playful tone. Adora glanced over to see a despondent look in Catra’s turquoise and gold eyes. “When you were adopted by the perfect family, or whatever.”

Adora’s thoughts were immediately drawn back to Razz. She pushed the power button on her phone but still didn’t see any new messages from Mara. She selfishly hoped that something was going on with Mara rather than her Nana. As soon as that thought entered her brain, guilt roiled in her stomach. “It’s not as perfect as you think it is,” she admitted.

“Well I’m sure it’s a hell of a lot better than being in the foster system for 18 years,” Catra countered, a sharp edge in her voice. “Just because your adoptive mommy and daddy forgot to tuck you in one night doesn’t mean that you can compare your experience to mine. Because it wasn’t the same. _We_ are not the same.”

“I know,” Adora quickly retorted, feeling as if Catra had just slapped her across the face. “I wasn’t trying to compare.”

The air around them grew excruciatingly tense, the only sound in the room the soft buzz of the hot plate as it warmed. Adora struggled to force down her guilt and anxiety, but her lack of sleep addled her mind. Why did she let Razz talk her into moving all the way to Bright Moon? She should’ve taken a gap year or gone to a local college so she could stay with her Nana and help her with her dementia. When she really thought about it, she was incredibly selfish to move away when her Nana needed her the most.

Catra moved to remove the beaker from the hot plate. Adora urged her body forward to assist the other girl, but her feet wouldn’t budge, her mind too preoccupied with all the things that could be wrong with her Nana. The intrusive and disturbing thoughts overwhelmed her until she uttered, “I was adopted by a 67-year old with no remaining family who just got diagnosed with dementia.” 

She kept her gaze trained on her phone screen in front of her, but heard the rustle of Catra’s lab coat as she halted in her tracks. That was the first time she’d told anybody about her Nana’s condition. She hadn’t had the courage to tell Glimmer or Bow. While it was probably just her sleep-deprived body that lowered her inhibitions, part of her felt that she could trust Catra. Unlike Adora’s other friends, Catra would be able to empathize with hardship.

“I love her more than anything in the world, and-,” Adora stopped, her throat suddenly constricted. “And now she might not recognize me when I go home and-”

Before she could try to choke out anything else, Catra stepped closer and wrapped her arms around Adora. Adora reciprocated, turning to lean into Catra’s touch. She savored the comforting feeling of the other girl’s arms engulfing her. She couldn’t help but notice that Catra smelled like citrus and rosewood, an odd combination but not unpleasant.

As quickly as the hug began, Catra pulled back. “I know this might not help, but… I’m sorry.” 

Adora forced down a sniffle. Catra had no idea how wrong she was. Hearing the usually snarky girl offer her words of encouragement did wonders to help Adora reign in her anxiety.

“And I can stop calling you princess if it reminds you of all of that,” Catra offered. “But I can’t guarantee the next nickname will be any less obnoxious.”

Adora couldn’t help the smile that tugged on the corners of her lips.

“The _next_ nickname?” she prompted and it was Catra’s turn to stutter.

“Well, uh, since we’re going to be doing this project together and all of our friends know each other, I figured we’ll be seeing each other pretty often. Even though _we’re_ not friends,” the dark-haired girl clarified.

“Princess is fine, you brat,” Adora remarked. At the shocked look on Catra’s face, Adora laughed. “What, I can’t give you a nickname too?”

Catra grumbled something along the lines of, “What a fucking dork,” as Adora shifted her attention back to the experiment. She felt Catra’s gaze linger on her for a moment longer before she also returned to the task at hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone that's been reading and leaving kudos! If you like where this story is going or want to see some change, feel free to comment :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra experiences one of the main joys of college - fire alarms going off in the middle of the night. Later, Bow and Catra hatch a plan and Adora can't turn down a challenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No trigger warnings - enjoy!

At exactly 3:28am, Catra awoke with a start. A piercing siren blasted through her dorm room, echoing every two seconds. Scorpia was already awake, sitting up in bed and covering her ears with her hands. Catra caught her eye and Scorpia jerked her head towards their door. Catra turned to see the fire alarm above their door blinking in time with the aggressively loud siren.

_Uggggggh_ , was the only comprehensive thought Catra’s brain could manage in her half-awake state. She dragged herself out of bed and slid her bare feet into her slippers. Scorpia followed suit, grabbing both her puffy red jacket and Catra’s red and black plaid flannel that hung on the back of their door. She tossed Catra’s flannel over to her and grabbed her keys from the dresser. Catra could hear nervous chatter and the shuffling of many sets of feet against the worn carpet out in the hallway. How the hell were all nine hundred of them supposed to exit the dorm fast enough to avoid getting caught in a fire? 

“Catra,” Scorpia called out over the siren. Catra blinked as she realized she’d been staring at the flannel in her hands, unmoving. “We should get going,” her roommate said emphatically.

Catra grunted in response, shoving her arms into her flannel and pulling it tight around her. Although it was still technically summer, the temperature the previous few nights had been unusually cold. Granted, Catra didn’t know what to expect when she moved to the northeast besides actually getting snow in the winters, but she’d hoped the warm weather would last just a little longer.

She and Scorpia stepped out into the crowded hallway and joined the stream of bleary-eyed students trudging towards the stairwell. Although Catra doubted there was actually a fire, she was surprised by the crowd’s unhurried pace. She guessed her hallmates didn’t seem to perceive any real danger from the alarm either. Either that or the stairwells were clogged with the influx of students. Catra had her money on the latter.

“Oh, boy,” Scorpia remarked, craning her neck to peer around the corner of their hall. Catra almost laughed at the sight of Scorpia, who was dressed in a matching blue and white pajama set, trying to see through the crowd when she was already a full head taller than most of the other students. If they really needed to push through the cramped hallway, Catra had no doubt that Scorpia could clear a path using her muscular arms and broad psychique. Catra would actually pay money to watch her roommate shove aside all these other students, but Scorpia was too nice to actually do that.

“I hope we get out in time,” Scorpia said.

“I don’t think there’s actually a fire,” Catra retorted, pulling her flannel closer to her body in anticipation of the cold. “Probably just some drunk idiot that pulled the fire alarm.”

“You think so?” Scorpia looked at her with such hope in her eyes that Catra’s voice softened as she replied, “Yeah.” Catra swore that Scorpia had mastered giving her puppy dog eyes and knew just when to use them.

_“Let’s go hang out with Entrapta and Perfuma at an arcade downtown.”_ Cue puppy dog eyes.

_“I took out the trash last week and the week before. Can’t you do it this time?”_ Cue puppy dog eyes.

_“I really need to scratch this itch on my back but I can’t reach it.”_ Cue puppy dog eyes.

Catra knew when she was doing it, too, but always obliged Scorpia’s requests. Given how often Scorpia went out of her way to be a good friend to Catra, she figured she could return the favor once or twice.

A cool breeze wafted down the hallway as Catra and Scorpia rounded the corner. Mermista was standing by the open door to the stairwell, a silk sleep mask resting on her forehead as she clutched a clipboard. Her eyes darted back and forth between the crowd of students pushing into the stairwell and her clipboard. She groaned when the two students in the doorway paused.

“C’mon, people, get a move on,” she yelled.

“We can’t go any further,” one of the students, dressed in a short skirt and low-cut top, protested. Based on their outfit, Catra assumed they’d just gotten back from a night out in downtown Bright Moon. She quickly learned that college students would throw parties or go to the bars in the city _any_ night of the week. And this poor student had gone downtown on a Monday night only to be dragged out of bed by a fire alarm before they could get any sleep. 

The crowd slowly moved into the stairwell and their RA looked immensely relieved. As Catra and Scorpia approached, Scorpia inquired, “There’s no fire, is there?”

“Some kid burnt their microwave mac-n-cheese and it set off the alarms,” Mermista explained. “So, no fire, but we still have to evacuate.”

Scorpia nodded before stepping into the stairwell, Catra close on her heels. From behind, Catra swore she heard Mermista mutter, “If it was Sea Hawk again, I swear to God…”

Catra didn’t even want to know what that meant.

She slowly made her way down the stairs, blinking hard to keep her eyes open. She was relieved that there wasn’t actually a fire, because she could barely summon enough energy to prevent herself from falling down the stairs. Maybe if she closed her eyes for just two seconds, she could savor the remnants of her dream...

Suddenly, Catra slammed into something tall and hard. She cursed as she wheeled back, realizing she’d just run into Scorpia’s back.

“Oh!” Scorpia chuckled. “Watch where you’re going, Wildcat.”

Not for the first time, Catra regretted revealing her high-school nickname to Scorpia. 

“Why’d you stop?” she grumbled, rubbing her nose from where it jammed into Scorpia’s spine.

She peered around Scorpia’s arm and saw students from an adjoining staircase marching in front of Scorpia to travel down the main staircase. Scorpia stood on the landing where the two sets of stairs merged and smiled at the students on the other staircase as they thanked her for letting them pass.

Catra balled her hands into fists as she took in the scene. She was not in the mood for Scorpia’s politeness this early in the morning.

“Scorpia!” Catra hissed angrily. “Stop it. Let’s go.”

Scorpia relented and joined the crowd heading for the exit, but not without saying “Sorry” a couple times. When they exited the building, they shoved past the crowd of students to find a relatively empty patch of grass on the quad. From their position on the top of the hill, Catra could easily survey the patchwork of lights from the other buildings scattered across campus. Although the hike up to her dorm was brutal some afternoons, the view always made up for it.

She shivered in the crisp air as she sat down in the cool grass. Scorpia joined her and crossed her legs in a way that reminded Catra of Perfuma. “So, if there was an actual fire, would you still have let those other people go before us?” Catra threw out.

Her roommate shrugged her shoulders and her puffy jacket bounced with the movement. “I mean… yeah. I’d say yeah.”

Catra huffed. “But what if you didn’t make it out because of that? And died in the fire?”

“Well, we weren’t in any real danger tonight-” Scorpia started but Catra interrupted.

“But if there _was_ a fire. Why wouldn’t you sprint for the door and fight so you’re the first one out?”

Scorpia turned to regard their dorm as if it would suddenly burst into flames. In the distance, Catra heard a fire truck wailing. She wondered if the firefighters would inspect the entire building before allowing the students back inside. If that was the case, they’d probably be out in the cold for a while. Although Catra didn’t have any obligations to get up early on Tuesdays, she was still pissed at the inconvenience of losing sleep just because some idiot burned their mac-n-cheese.

“I would still let them go,” Scorpia responded. “That’s just how I was raised- you help others before you help yourself. Despite what the airlines say, I would put my gas mask on my kid before myself.”

“What?” Catra snapped, suddenly confused. She’d never been on a plane before, as most of the foster families she lived with couldn’t afford such luxuries. Particularly not not for the foster kid.

“Oh, you know how the flight attendants always say ‘Put your oxygen mask on first before assisting others’?” Scorpia prompted and Catra shook her head. “Well my moms always taught me to help others, especially people that are in worse situations than yours or people that don’t have the means to help themselves. So I’d put the mask on my kid first because the kid wouldn’t know what to do without me.”

Catra wanted to counter with something snarky like ‘Your kid won’t know what to do if you’re dead,’ but the sirens from the fire truck were now combining with the alarm from the dorm in a jarring dissonance that overwhelmed her senses. The sirens reached an almost intolerable level as the fire truck pulled up next to the dorm, its red and white lights shining onto the quad. The cacophony of harsh sirens finally ebbed into a dull roar and Catra sighed in relief.

She turned to her roommate and asked, “Can you text your girlfriend and see if we can go to her dorm so we don’t have to sit here in the cold and listen to these obnoxious sirens?” 

Catra would laugh at the shocked look on Scorpia’s face if she wasn’t so irritated. “Who? My girlfriend? I don’t have a girlfriend, although Perfuma and I have been hanging out a lot and maybe that means she wants more but I don’t even know what _I_ want and--”

“Oh my God, yes, I was talking about Perfuma,” Catra interrupted before Scorpia could launch into another discussion about how she was unsure if she was looking for a relationship or not. In Catra’s opinion, Scorpia spent way too long debating whether or not to ask Perfuma out on a date. Scorpia was afraid to do so because she didn’t know how the other girl felt. Catra had reminded her multiple times that if she just asked Perfuma, she’d find out the answer pretty quickly. Yet Scorpia still hesitated. 

Now, whenever she would drone on and on about whether or not to say something to Perfuma, Catra would listen half-heartedly, offering small “mms” to appear engaged in the conversation.

Although, Catra’s method of ripping off the bandaid didn’t always work in her favor. Back in high school, she was in a similar situation with a friend and it did _not_ end well for her. Catra was already out by then, but the other girl was always ambiguous when asked about her sexuality. Stupidly, Catra developed a crush on her and decided to ask her out just to see if she felt the same. When she admitted her feelings, the girl immediately responded with “I’m not interested in you like that.” She then went on to be named Prom Queen along with the boy she started dating as soon as she turned Catra down.

So, maybe Catra’s method wasn’t the best. She should learn to be more patient with her roommate, even if it did get on her nerves how much Scorpia wanted to talk about her feelings.

“Sure, I’ll text her,” Scorpia said and pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket. Catra’s teeth began chattering as she watched two firefighters approach the dorm to talk with the RAs gathered out front. One of the RAs opened the front door and led the firefighters inside, confirming Catra’s suspicions that the firefighters would need to clear the building even though there wasn’t actually a fire.

“Ooh, she already responded!” Scorpia said giddily.

“That’s because she likes you,” Catra said pointedly. “You should ask her out.”

Scorpia didn’t seem to hear her, a smile spread wide on her face as she typed out a response. “Someone also set off the fire alarm at her dorm, so she and Bow and some of the others are heading to Plumeria for a late-night snack.”

At the mention of Bow, Catra’s stomach twisted. Those were _Adora’s_ friends and Catra had no desire to see the blonde girl this early in the morning. Why did Scorpia have to befriend all of them anyways? Didn’t she know she was ruining Catra’s plan to avoid Adora at all costs?

“More like breakfast at this point,” Catra grumbled. She rubbed her hands together as her body involuntarily shivered. 

“Whatcha say?” Scorpia pressed, her voice eager yet strained, like she was trying to hide how excited she was at the prospect of seeing her crush just so Catra wouldn’t feel bad about turning her down.

As much as Catra did not want to see Adora, she _really_ did not want to be outside much longer. “Fine,” she replied. “Anything to get out of this cold.”

Scorpia squealed with delight and swiftly typed out a response to Perfuma. She scrambled to her feet and held out her hand to Catra. Catra brushed it off and stood, shaking out her cold, stiff legs. She regretted not throwing on a pair of sweatpants over her thin pajama leggings.

The sirens from the fire truck slowly faded away as Scorpia and Catra trudged down the hill. They didn’t speak as they made their way through campus. Catra’s fingers and toes quickly grew numb, so she quickened her pace in an attempt to warm herself. When they reached a crosswalk, Catra didn’t wait for the pedestrian signal before running across the street.

“Hey, wait, there’s still a green light,” Scorpia called after her.

Catra didn’t care. It was almost four in the morning and she wanted to get out of the cold. Scorpia caught up to her as they neared Plumeria, golden light radiating from its many windows. Judging from the obnoxiously loud racket spewing from the building, other students were also using the fire alarms as an excuse to get a snack from the only dining hall open overnight. Catra and Scorpia stepped into the stone courtyard in front of the building and Catra glimpsed a small group of people milling about by the doors. Catra noticed Perfuma’s long, wavy hair, but her stomach soon twisted as she recognized Bow’s signature clear-framed glasses and his short friend’s pink and purple bob.

“Hi, guys,” Scorpia stepped in front of Catra and greeted the group. They all smiled at her, Perfuma even giving Scorpia a soft hug.

“Hi, Scorpia! And hi, Catra!” Perfuma remarked, too chipper for someone who had been woken up in the middle of the night by a merciless fire alarm. Catra stepped out from behind Scorpia and glared at the group. Unsurprisingly, Adora had accompanied her friends and sat on the ledge of the courtyard, resting her arm against her knee. Her other leg dangled off the short ledge as she eyed Catra curiously. Adora was wrapped in a large maroon sweatshirt with gray joggers tucked into some very ratty tennis shoes. As Catra surveyed her, she noticed that Adora’s face looked softer, younger than normal.

Perfuma took a step forward like she wanted to give Catra a hug as well but then thought better of it. “Let’s eat!” She chirped and they all shuffled towards the doors. 

Catra remained at the back of the group so could avoid walking next to Adora as they scanned their IDs to enter the dining hall. As Adora fumbled in her pocket for her ID, Catra realized that her medium-length dirty-blonde hair was loose, falling in a neat curtain around her shoulders. Catra had only ever seen Adora with her hair up in that awful ponytail with the poof at the top. Now, however, Catra watched Adora’s blonde tendrils sway as she scanned her ID and promptly made her way towards the food. 

_If I ran my fingers through her hair, would it prove to be as soft as it looks?_

Catra shook her head to rid herself of the obtrusive image, and scanned her own ID. She brushed past the crowd to beeline for the breakfast buffet line. If she was awake this early, she might as well have a proper breakfast. She grabbed a tray and leaned her hip against the counter as she willed the students in the long line in front of her to _hurry up_.

“Did Perfuma tell you guys what happened?” a voice said from over her shoulder and Catra whipped her head around. The short girl with the pink hair - _Glimmer_ , she remembered - stood behind her. Glimmer gave Catra an inquisitive look as she grabbed herself a tray from the stack.

“Oh,” Catra jolted. “No.” 

“Apparently two guys were playing a game of ‘microwave chicken’ over FaceTime,” Glimmer let go of her tray to make air quotes. “One of them was in our dorm and the other was in yours, I guess. Basically, the first one that took their mac-n-cheese out of the microwave lost the game. Our guy’s mac-n-cheese caught on fire first, which is why we’ve been out for almost an hour now.”

_An hour?_ Catra thought as she grabbed a plate and utensils. She hoped that she and Scorpia wouldn’t have to wait a whole hour to return to their dorms. She just wanted to eat her breakfast and then go back to sleep. 

She frowned as she stepped forward in line and began to scoop scrambled eggs onto her plate. “People are fucking idiots,” she remarked.

Glimmer snorted. “You’re very right.”

She continued filling her plate in silence as Glimmer stepped up behind her and began to shovel hashbrowns onto her plate. Catra was in no mood to continue a conversation with this girl, but Glimmer soon spoke up again.

“Adora told me about your chemistry extra credit situation.” 

Catra stiffened. This sparkly-haired girl could not mind her own damn business. 

Catra opened her mouth to tell her so but Glimmer prattled on, “I know you’re probably not interested, but I’m also in Intro to Chem, just a different lab time. Maybe you, Adora, and I could work on the homework problems together?” Glimmer paused to pour an obscene amount of syrup on her pancakes. Catra tensed as the baggy sleeves of Glimmer’s teal sweater almost wiped the syrup clean off the top of her pancakes, but she raised her arm at the last moment and avoided disaster. Catra stepped out of the line and Glimmer followed her towards the large table their friends had claimed.

“No pressure, but I was thinking we could meet up on Thursday afternoons? That way we can go over the lab prep for Friday. Just let me know if you’d be interested,” she gave Catra an encouraging smile and took a seat in between Bow and Adora.

Catra didn’t respond as she slumped into the chair next to Scorpia. A flash of lilac whirled in the corner of her vision and Catra turned to see Entrapta slide into the seat on her left. Someone must’ve informed her of their gathering because Catra hadn’t seen her outside the dining hall earlier.

“Hey, Entrapta,” Catra greeted. Unlike the rest of them, the Mechanical Engineering major wore her everyday clothes - a white tank top tucked into a pair of purple overalls whose straps hung around her waist. Catra wouldn’t be surprised if she had already gotten up for the day, or just hadn’t gone to sleep the night before.

Entrapta smiled as she picked up her knife and began to slice a banana. “Hi, Catra! Isn’t this exciting? I never eat at this hour. I wonder what it’ll do to my body.” Once she was done cutting up the fruit, she placed the banana slices on two pieces of peanut butter toast and dug into her meal. 

When Entrapta pulled out her phone and began to scroll through a news article, Catra turned away to eat her breakfast silently. Her eggs were a bit bland and the sausage a tad overcooked, so she just picked at her food. Scorpia was grossly engaged in conversation with Perfuma, but Catra was _not_ in the mood to hear them complimenting each other in their pathetic attempt at flirting. So, instead, she listened in on Bow, Glimmer, and Adora’s conversation.

“And the last one is the Dean’s office,” Glimmer was saying. Bow laughed while Adora groaned.

“That’s impossible,” Adora remarked in between bites of… what looked like a small feast. Adora had two plates in front of her, both laden with various breakfast items along with a quesadilla and a pile of chicken nuggets. How the hell did she keep her body in such good shape when she ate like shit?

“Please tell me you’re not thinking about doing this, Glimmer,” Bow added.

Glimmer shrugged, and Catra’s curiosity was piqued enough to inquire, “Do what?”

The trio turned to her, Adora’s hand pausing in mid air as she lifted a fork of hashbrowns to her mouth. Her blue-grey eyes widened when Catra spoke, and Catra couldn’t help but scoff at the other girl’s incredulous look.

“It’s called the Pentagon,” Glimmer explained, a mischievous grin plastered on her face. “It’s a Bright Moon rite of passage where you sneak into the five most heavily guarded buildings on campus. There’s no prize or anything, but you get major boasting rights if you complete it.”

“Hmm, how do you prove that you snuck in?” Entrapta contributed. In fact, Scorpia and Perfuma had finished up their private conversation and were also engrossed in Glimmer’s tale.

“Back when my dad went here, you’d have to take an object from the building. But now I think people just take selfies. I’ll find some...” she trailed off as she grabbed her phone from the table and began scrolling.

“The whole thing seems like it’s more trouble than it’s worth,” Perfuma observed. “Who cares about bragging rights when you could get suspended?”

“Or arrested!” Scorpia added and Perfuma nodded vigorously.

“But to say that you snuck into the five most secure buildings on campus is _legendary_. That’s the type of legacy that I want to leave when I graduate,” Bow remarked.

Catra actually rolled her eyes this time. She doubted that anyone who was friends with Adora would actually go through with this breaking-and-entering scheme. They all seemed too goody-goody for such behaviour.

“So then why don’t you? Why don’t you try to sneak into the Dean’s Office?” Catra prompted him.

Bow sat forward in his chair and crossed his arms over the table. “Why don’t _you_?” he fired back.

Catra twirled her fork around her plate, leaning back so she could put one foot up on her chair. “I could easily break into the Dean’s Office,” she boasted. “Doesn’t mean I want to risk getting suspended for it.”

Glimmer made a noise between a gasp and a squeal as she evidently found the pictures she had been searching for. She handed her phone around to Adora and said, “Pass this down so everyone can see.” Adora obliged, and as Perfuma and Scorpia were scrolling through the pictures, Bow continued.

“How about this.” He folded his arms over his chest and didn’t break eye contact with Catra as he said, “Tomorrow night we split off into teams and each try to complete one leg of the Pentagon.”

“Oh, I am very much not interested,” Entrapta said quickly.

“Me either,” Scorpia chimed in and Perfuma echoed her sentiment.

“You know I’m down,” Glimmer said smugly. 

Catra dared to glance over at Adora. The blonde had a worried frown on her face, but quickly attempted to cover it up once she noticed Catra was looking. If Catra was getting dragged into this, so was Adora. And Catra had a feeling that she knew just what to say to prompt Adora to willingly agree to this crazy plan.

“What about you, Adora? Too scared?” Catra smirked at the blonde.

Adora’s face hardened into steely resolve. “Not in the slightest. I’m in.”

Catra tried not to laugh at how easy that was. Catra’s assumption about Adora being the competitive type paid off. “Me too,” she told the group.

“Okay, let’s meet here tomorrow night at 9,” Glimmer said casually, like they were planning brunch. “Bow and I can take the Athletic Center while Catra and Adora can take the Dean’s Office.”

A hesitant look flitted across Adora’s face, which gave Catra all the confidence in the world that she wouldn’t actually have to go through with this ridiculous plan. Adora would back out, and then Catra would be let off the hook. Bow and Glimmer could go and get themselves arrested for trespassing all they wanted.

“Sounds like a plan,” she said to the group and returned to her very early breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter wasn't as ~exciting~ or action-packed, but I hope the next one will make up for it! :D


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora and Catra attempt to execute a leg of the Pentagon, a Bright Moon rite of passage that Bow challenged them to complete.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, all! I had fun writing this chapter so I hope you guys enjoy :D

Adora shifted nervously on her feet, the cool evening air failing to soothe her anxiety. Earlier in the day she’d almost admitted to Glimmer that she didn’t want to go through with this plan, that she _couldn’t_ go through with this plan. Five separate times she’d opened her mouth to say that she couldn’t risk her scholarship by sneaking into the Dean’s Office. But, each time she almost backed out, Catra’s arrogant smirk popped into her mind. Adora’s breath caught when she thought about the way Catra had surveyed her for any sign of hesitation, waiting for Adora to capitulate ungraciously. Instead, Adora answered Catra’s challenge with a cool confidence, hoping her voice didn’t betray any of her uncertainty.

She reasoned with herself that she only agreed to the dare in the first place to show Catra what the other girl was missing when she constantly rejected Adora’s offers of friendship. Adora’s acceptance had nothing to do with how she felt inexplicably drawn towards the cedar-haired girl, how Catra’s turquoise and gold eyes lured her in like a sailor tempted by a siren’s call. Even at four in the morning, Catra had emerged from her dorm looking as beautiful as ever, tucked in a large flannel and her face free of her signature eyeliner. She looked softer, more approachable than usual, which spurred Adora to accept her offer regardless of the risks.

Adora knew that she should respect Catra’s wishes to keep her distance. But she was struggling to do so when visions constantly flitted through her mind of her fingers wrapped around Catra’s lithe waist or ghosting across Catra’s freckled cheeks. She would often find herself daydreaming about the sensation of Catra’s long eyelashes tickling against her chin as the other girl leaned up ever so slightly to bring their lips together in the gentlest of meetings.

At the thought, Adora’s ears grew warm and her cheeks flushed. She readjusted her beanie and unzipped her red jacket a couple inches to allow the sharp breeze to nip at the top of her nylon workout shirt. She would’ve worn a black jacket but she didn’t own any and Glimmer’s were too small on her. Even though she didn’t plan on committing any more crimes, she was beginning to think she might have to find a part-time job to earn some extra cash. She knew she would need a new coat come wintertime, and she definitely didn’t have enough money saved up to buy anything sturdy.

Oh, how her Nana would laugh if she heard that Adora finally decided to get a new jacket just because she was sneaking around with her friends late at night. Whenever Razz was done paying the bills each month and had a little extra money leftover, she’d offer to buy Adora a new pair of tennis shoes or a new beanie. Adora had always refused, claiming that they needed to be financially prepared for any future expenses that were significantly more important than new shoes.

Unfortunately, Adora had been right, as her Nana was now dipping into her savings to pay for Mara’s care. Although Mara’s original offer had been free, Razz and her doctor decided to hire Mara as a part-time in-house nurse to care for Razz during the evenings. Apparently the night that Mara had forgotten to text Adora, she and Razz had gotten into a disagreement on where Razz should store her broom so she wouldn’t keep forgetting it around the house. Nonetheless, when Mara finally responded to Adora that Saturday afternoon, she’d profusely apologized and promised to send updates even more often in the future.

Adora shoved her hands into her pockets and looked over at Bow and Glimmer. Nervous smiles were plastered on both of their faces as they debated the best entrance to the Athletic Center.

“I mean, it’s definitely smarter to use the athlete’s entrance,” Bow was saying. Despite the chilly temperature, he was sporting his favorite white and gold cropped hoodie that left his midriff exposed to the elements. Glimmer was no better, her simple teal sweater hanging loosely off her shoulders. Adora supposed that since they both grew up in the northeast, they were comfortable with the cold.

“But getting an athlete to help us is basically cheating,” Glimmer pushed back. She had one hand on her hip and brandished the other in the air as she spoke.

“Wait, really?” Bow questioned.

“Yep,” Glimmer replied, popping the ‘p.’ “There’s no official rulebook or anything, but that’s what I’ve heard.”

“I swear you’re making up this whole Pentagon thing, Glimmer,” Adora commented.

“Ask my dad the next time you’re at track practice and he’ll tell you it’s real,” Glimmer suggested. “Wait... actually _don’t_ ask him about that. The last thing I want is for him to find out that we’re doing this,” she backtracked and Bow laughed.

“If things go wrong, at least Micah could help us out?” Adora prompted.

“I certainly hope so. Oh, Catra’s here!” Glimmer exclaimed.

Sure enough, an irritated-looking Catra approached them, darting rapidly across the street after several cars passed. Unlike Adora, she was dressed in an ensemble fit for someone who was about to sneak around campus in the dark. Her jacket, leggings, and boots were all a deep onyx and she had swapped out her usual red bandana that she kept nestled in her thick hair for a black one that fell loosely around her neck.

Adora scowled as Catra neared. Some naively optimistic part of her had hoped that Catra wouldn’t show up so she wouldn’t actually have to go through with Bow and Glimmer’s insane plan.

“Don’t look so excited to see me,” Catra retorted, jerking her chin at Adora. When Bow and Glimmer turned to her, Adora attempted to relax her posture, removing her hands from her pockets and allowing them to dangle awkwardly at her side.

“I’m just surprised you had the guts to show up,” Adora replied.

“Are you kidding me?” Catra said, lifting a hand to inspect her nails. She flicked off some invisible dirt and gave Adora a shit-eating grin. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

“Fantastic!” Glimmer remarked, an equally maniacal grin on her face. “Everyone ready?”

Adora met Bow’s gaze and caught a small glimpse of her fear reflected in his eyes. This was her last chance to back out, to accept the blow to her pride and retreat back to the safety of her dorm room. But, when she looked back over at Catra, she knew what she had to do. 

Adora steeled herself and balled her hands into fists. “Let’s do this,” she declared.

The four of them strode away from the dining hall and towards the bus stop. Bow and Glimmer remained on the side of the road closest to Plumeria while Adora and Catra crossed the street to catch the west-bound bus. Since the Athletic Center was located on the east side of campus while the Dean’s Office was on the west side, Adora wouldn’t see Bow and Glimmer again until their escapades were over. Instead, she was stuck with Catra, who leaned against the streetlight and crossed her arms, pointedly looking down the road to avoid Adora’s gaze. Adora shoved her hands back in her pockets and watched Glimmer and Bow continue their debate from across the street.

 _Catra and I should really discuss our own plan,_ she thought. After another minute of silence, Adora finally asked, “Do you have any ideas of how we can get into the office?” 

Before Catra could respond, a large, clambering bus jerked to a halt in front of the other bus stop. Adora watched as Glimmer’s face popped up in the bus window, Bow’s appearing soon afterwards. He waved to Adora as the bus took off, carrying them to the opposite side of campus.

Adora glanced over at Catra to see the other girl lowering her arm from where she was likely giving Bow and Glimmer a rude gesture. “I have sharp nails, and experience using a credit card to bypass locks on doors. Should be a piece of cake.”

The credit card idea sounded a lot smarter than Adora’s idea of using her bobby pin. Suddenly a long-neglected memory burst into Adora’s mind like a lion escaping from its cage. A flood of nostalgia overwhelmed her senses, almost knocking her off her feet. Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, “Do you remember trying to sneak into Mother Octavia’s office?”

Catra stiffened and Adora immediately regretted bringing up an incident from their shared time at Weaver’s.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t…” Adora stumbled. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

Catra refused to meet her gaze as a twin pair of headlights appeared down the road. The tires of the bus screeched loudly as it stopped before them. Adora climbed up the stairs and surveyed the relatively empty bus. Only a handful of students were scattered throughout the rows, mostly clumped near the back. Since Adora didn’t want any of them to overhear her and Catra’s plotting, she took a seat in the front. She specifically chose the seat closest to the window so Catra could sit next to her, but instead Catra sat down across the aisle from Adora. She leaned against the window and placed one leg up on the seat next to her, creating even more distance between them.

As the bus lurched forward, Adora turned to Catra and said, “Also, I want to apologize that I haven’t sent an email to Dr. Prime yet. I was going to send one yesterday before class, but then we had that fire alarm fiasco and... anyways, I’ll do it first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Eh,” Catra shrugged. “Don’t worry about it.”

Adora reeled. _What?_ Catra _didn’t_ want her to email their professor to see if he could help them get out of Hordak’s torturous extra credit?

Comprehending the shock apparent on Adora’s face, Catra continued, “Let’s just keep our heads down and complete the assignments Hordak throws at us until we’re passing the class again. And as much as I hate the idea of spending my Thursday nights reviewing chemistry problems, Sparkles’ study session might be the best way to get our grades up as soon as possible.”

“Uh, okay,” Adora replied, although she still thought it would be useful to at least notify Dr. Prime of the situation. She resolved to send the email in the morning regardless of Catra’s opinion. “And her name is Glimmer.”

“I know,” Catra smirked. “She’s just so sparkly.” She gestured to either side of her head, obviously mocking the way that Glimmer’s hair stuck up, but Adora didn’t sense any real malice behind her actions.

“You and your nicknames,” Adora muttered.

“You know you love it, princess,” Catra purred.

Adora frowned, prompting Catra to chuckle as the bus sputtered to a halt. They clambered out of their seats and Adora made sure to thank the bus driver before she stepped back out into the crisp night. The administrative office building, which housed the Dean’s Office, was located atop of one of Bright Moon’s infamous hills. Adora was just grateful that the bus took them that far, as the uphill walk all the way from Plumeria would have been excruciatingly long.

As they began their trek up the sidewalk, Adora said, “I looked up the blueprints of the building. The Dean’s Office is on the second floor, all the way down the left hallway. Our best course of action is to enter from the front and then take the far left staircase.”

“Of course you came prepared,” Catra remarked.

“I take that as a compliment,” Adora replied, grinning, and Catra rolled her eyes. Catra opened her mouth, no doubt to offer some sort of rude comment, but Adora cut her off. “It’s a part of the Pentagon because there’s a security guard up on the third floor who monitors all the hallway security cameras. If we walk into the eyesight of one of those cameras, we probably have less than a minute before the guard comes down and drags us out. The guard is also responsible for locking up the building at eleven, so we can’t take too long.”

They stopped about thirty feet from the entrance. Unlike the other buildings on campus, the administrative office was constructed from worn red bricks that were crumbling in certain sections. Adora guessed it was as old as the University itself. When she noticed two security cameras perched above the front door, her mind began to whirl. She knew that they could squeeze through the hallway cameras’ blindspots once they were inside, but she had completely overlooked the fact that there might be cameras _outside_ , guarding the entrance to the building.

_Shit._

“What about those cameras?” Catra jerked with her chin as she gathered her hair up into a low ponytail. 

Adora tried to picture the blueprints she had found online earlier. Was there another entrance in the back? If so, why didn’t she plan on using that entrance in the first place?

She couldn’t let Catra see her panic. _Think, Adora, think._

Suddenly, an idea struck her- so stupid it might work. “How fast can you run?” she breathed.

“What?” Catra looked back and forth between Adora and the front door. After a moment of confusion, she caught Adora’s drift. “Adora, _no_ , that’s not a good idea.”

“What are the chances the guard is looking at all the cameras at once? I bet they cycle every two or so seconds,” Adora said although she had no evidence to back up her claims. “I know I can run fast enough to avoid being seen. Can you keep up?” she taunted. 

Catra’s eyes hardened but her body still conveyed a sense of unease. Before Catra could shoot down her extremely reckless plan, Adora grabbed the other girl’s hand and _sprinted_ for the door.

To their benefit, Catra didn’t object or shout as she ran alongside Adora. Within the span of three or so seconds, Adora swung open the door and they raced inside. Catra separated from Adora and leaned her hands against her knees to catch her breath. Adora braced herself against the secretary’s desk, waiting to hear the echo of a door opening and a security guard hustling down the stairs. 

After several breathless moments, she deemed their entrance successful and grinned at Catra. Catra stood up and smoothed back several wisps of her tousled hair that had tugged free of her ponytail.

“You’re an idiot,” she hissed at Adora.

This only made Adora smile more. “C’mon, let’s go,” she whispered back.

Adora turned down the left hallway and shimmied along the length of the wall underneath the first security camera, sucking in her stomach to ensure she remained as unnoticeable as possible. When she approached the next camera, she quickly darted to the other side of the hallway and continued her slow shuffle. Catra followed her on gracefully stealthy feet.

As they moved, Adora’s heart pounded so loud in her chest that she swore Catra could hear it and was just being polite by not mentioning it. She couldn’t believe that she was actually going through with this insanely risky plan just to impress some cute girl. Adora had no idea how’d she’d ever explain this to Razz if she got caught.

Adora forced all thoughts of her Nana out of her mind and continued forward. When they reached the end of the hall, she gingerly pulled open the door to the staircase.

“After you,” she whispered to Catra, hoping to sound confident. Instead, her voice squeaked like a pubescent boy.

The corners of Catra’s mouth twitched, like she was trying to hold back another smirk. She marched quietly up the stairs and Adora followed, carefully shutting the door behind them. Although they both moved as silently as they could, Adora swore every footstep echoed like a hammer hitting an anvil. 

They reached the second floor landing and Catra halted at the door. When Adora stepped up next to her, she could hear Catra’s ragged breathing. As much as she was reassured to know she wasn’t the only anxious one, Catra’s nervousness spiked even more fear into her heart. Adora peered through the small window in the door to ensure they wouldn’t be stepping into the view of any of the cameras when they exited the stairwell.

“All good,” she said in a hushed voice and pulled open the door. It let out a long ‘creeeeak’ and Adora winced the whole way through. She only opened it as far as they needed to slide by, then took her time closing it. She doubted that the security guard could hear something as small as a door creaking, but she didn’t want to take any chances. 

She navigated over to a door with a long, skinny marble plaque that read, “Dean Whitson.”

“My turn,” Catra whispered and pulled a credit card out of her pocket. She flashed it at Adora before kneeling in front of the door knob. She slid the card in between the door and its frame, tilting her hand so the card angled downwards parallel to the knob. She repeated this motion several times, even wiggling the card back and forth. 

From the recesses of Adora’s mind, a voice floated up to her- _“Ugh, do you have it already?”_

If Catra hadn’t been crouched in front of her at that moment, Adora wouldn’t have been able to identify the voice that crept up from her memories. She still couldn’t believe that she and Catra had the guts to try sneaking into a _nun_ ’s office when they were only eight years old. Adora wasn’t normally so rebellious, but whenever she was around Catra, she always felt like the two of them could bend the rules of the universe together, like they were invincible.

When she heard a soft click and Catra softly whoop in triumph, that invincibility flooded through Adora’s veins once more, causing her fingertips to tingle and the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end. It reminded her of the superhuman sensation she’d get when she was running and would tune out the rest of the world. As Catra stood up and opened the door, her face mere inches from Adora’s, she wanted nothing more than to close the gap between them and kiss the other girl with all of the energy flowing through her body.

And the way that Catra grinned back at her, like she was also itching with an unbridled fervor, made Adora’s pounding heart flip over in her chest.

That notion of invulnerability immediately dissipated and was replaced with a jolt of panic as Adora beheld the security camera in the Dean’s Office situated above a bookshelf, pointed right at them.

Catra whipped around and noticed the camera. She cursed and pushed Adora out of the camera’s scope and back against the opposing wall, but it was too late. Adora knew that they had been standing in the doorway for too long, eyes locked on each other as their souls crested and ebbed against each other like two opposing waves. Unless the security guard had been neglecting to check the camera feeds, they would’ve seen the two girls by now.

As if on cue, Adora heard a prominent ‘thump’ from the floor above them and then the loud smack of a door slamming against the wall of the stairwell.

“Are there any other stairs?” Catra fired at Adora, her nails digging into Adora’s shoulders.

“No,” Adora replied, her body frozen in shock. _Stupid_ , she was so _stupid_ to think that they could get away with this. Now she was going to get kicked out of college or arrested.

“Fuck,” Catra cursed again. She glanced at the entrance to the stairwell and then down the other end of the hallway. She released her grip on Adora and took off in the direction opposite of the stairwell. Adora willed her body to follow Catra, but she was paralyzed with fear. Only when she heard the heavy footsteps of the security guard from inside the stairwell did her legs cooperate. She _bolted_ down the dark hallway, not bothering to look back and see if the security guard was following her.

Adora ran almost blindly until she reached the end of the hallway. She skidded to a halt to find Catra standing in front of a large window. Adora desperately tried to open the offices on either side of the hallway, but found them both locked.

“What now?” Adora hissed. 

In one swift motion, Catra flipped the lock on the top of the window and pushed it up. When a loud beeping noise assaulted her ears, Adora realized that they must’ve set off some alarm by opening the window. 

“Well, it’s not like they don’t already know we’re here,” Catra quipped. She climbed into the window frame, reaching out to grab a nearby tree branch. She reminded Adora of a cat in the way she effortlessly hauled her slim body through the window and climbed onto the branches. Adora would’ve laughed at the connection with her name if she wasn’t wholly overcome with sheer _panic_.

Adora swallowed as she looked out the window and down at the ground twelve or so feet below. She’d never been a huge fan of heights. In fact, she believed that anyone who said they weren’t scared of heights was simply lying.

“Adora, c’mon,” Catra called as she shimmied down the branch.

Adora put one leg out the window, but as soon as she looked down again, she hesitated. She couldn’t do this, she _couldn’t_ do this. It was all too much- the heights, the alarm, the security guard no doubt on their tail.

“Adora,” Catra said in a surprising gentle voice. She scrambled back up the branch so she was within arm’s reach of the window. “I’m not going to let you fall, I promise.” She held out a hand. “Do you trust me?” 

Catra’s words struck some deep chord beneath all of Adora’s panic. For some unknown reason, she inherently _trusted_ Catra. As much as Catra spoke about not wanting to be friends with her, Adora knew that her childhood companion wouldn’t abandon her to the mercies of the security guard, and wouldn’t let her fall.

Adora nodded and grasped Catra’s hand tightly. She relied on the other girl to support some of her weight as she climbed onto the branch. They both hastily scurried down the tree and dropped to the ground. As soon as her feet touched the grass, Adora darted down the hill towards the bus stop, Catra close on her heels. Neither of them paused at the bus stop, an unspoken communication between them conveying their shared urge to get as far away from the Dean’s Office as fast as they could. They ran and ran and _ran_ until the administrative office building was no more than a speck at the top of a distant hill.

Catra finally began to slow as they neared the quad in front of Adora’s dorm. She gracelessly collapsed into the grass and Adora quickly followed suit. She buried her sweaty face in the cool blades and thanked every divine being in the world that the security guard hadn’t followed them this far.

“I have a confession,” Adora said once she caught her breath. She turned her head to spy Catra lying on her back, her arms spread out like a starfish. “Remember how Hordak mentioned that we were both on scholarship? Well, my Nana… she can’t afford a school like Bright Moon. If we get in trouble from this - if I lose my _scholarship_ because of this - I could lose my best chance at ever getting a college degree.”

Catra whipped her head around, her tan skin flushed from exertion. Honestly, Adora wouldn’t be surprised if the other girl needed to hurl her guts up after a sprint like that. 

“Me too,” Catra admitted. “I don’t have … let’s just say that this is also my only chance at ever going to college.” Despite the somber subject, Catra let out a loud cackle that abated into a low laugh. Adora swore was the most beautiful sound she’d ever heard.

Adora turned her gaze from the other girl and looked up at the night sky. “Guess we’re both idiots then,” she stated. 

After a couple more deep breaths, she sat up and said, “I wonder how Bow and Glimmer did.” 

Catra just let out a “hmm” in response, so Adora pulled her phone out of her pocket. Neither of her friends had texted her, which meant they were most likely still in the process of sneaking into the Athletic Center. She sent a quick message into the Best Friends Squad group text (obviously named by Bow) to let them know she was back at the dorm. She then reached into her pocket reflexively to check for her room key, but came back empty-handed.

“Shit,” she barked, standing up to check all of her jean pockets to no avail.

“What’s wrong?” Catra asked.

“I forgot my room key,” Adora told her. “But it’s no big deal, I’m sure Glimmer will be back soon.”

Catra sat up and drew her legs close to her chest. She always moved into that position, like she was trying to make herself as small as possible. “I’ll wait with you,” she offered. “I want to hear how successful Sparkles and Arrow Boy were.”

" _Arrow Boy?_ ”

“His name is literally _Bow_ \- what else am I supposed to call him?” Catra scoffed.

Adora chuckled. As she sat back down on the grass next to Catra, she accidentally bumped the other girl’s shoulder. Although Catra didn’t flinch or pull away, Adora mumbled an apology and scooched a foot or so away.

The two of them sat in a comfortable silence for about fifteen minutes before Catra yawned once. Then twice. Adora couldn’t help but yawn as well, her body exhausted from both the lack of sleep from the fire alarm the previous night as well as their recent dash across campus. She was impressed that Catra had managed to keep up with her, considering the fact that Adora trained for collegiate-level track meets by running every day. She wondered if Catra played any sports, either back in high school or now. She resolved to ask the other girl another time when they both weren’t so tired.

After another fifteen minutes, Adora sent a second message into the Best Friends Squad group text.

“Do you think they got caught?” Adora mused.

“Nah, they’re probably just making out somewhere,” Catra said plainly.

Adora whipped her head around. “What?”

Catra gave her a confused look. “Are they not an item?”

Adora thought back on her interactions with her two friends. Sure, Glimmer went all-out for Bow’s birthday party, but that was because they were best friends. And sure, Bow brought Glimmer ice cream cake after she failed her first Accounting exam and stayed up watching America’s Next Top Model with her long after Adora fell asleep, but that was because they were best friends… right? Unless they had feelings for each other?

“Speak of the devil,” Catra started but yawned loudly before she could continue. Adora glanced up to see Bow and Glimmer stalking across the quad to meet them.

“Hey, guys! How did it go?” Bow exclaimed once he was close enough to be heard. 

“Uh, pretty terrible,” Adora admitted as she and Catra climbed to their feet. “We got to the Dean’s Office, but then had to leave before the security guard caught us.”

“How far did you two get?” Catra said, placing a hand on her hip and scrutinizing Glimmer and Bow like she could see through any lie they told.

“You guys definitely got further than we did,” Glimmer laughed. “We couldn’t even make it in the building.”

“ _What?_ ” Catra screeched. “So Adora and I almost got caught and kicked out of Bright Moon while you two didn’t even make it in the building? What the hell took you two so long then?”

Glimmer and Bow shared a look and Adora’s jaw dropped. Catra was right- her two friends _were_ together, like, romantically. “We decided to walk back,” Glimmer said innocently. “Why haven’t you gone inside the dorm?” 

“I forgot my key again,” Adora grumbled.

Glimmer threw her hands in the air. “Ugh, Adora,” she groaned. “How does this always happen?”

“It’s because you don’t have a-” Bow began but Adora interrupted.

“Don’t you dare say lanyard.”

Bow closed his mouth and held up his hand in defense. “At least you guys now have an exciting story to tell about your freshman year of college!”

“ _Not_ worth it,” Catra muttered under her breath, quiet enough that only Adora could hear.

“Allright, let’s go to bed. I am _exhausted_ ,” Glimmer groaned again and made a show of dragging her feet towards the dorm. Bow followed her but Adora stayed behind with Catra.

“Thanks for waiting with me. Can I walk you back to your dorm?” she offered.

Catra shook her head. “I’ll be fine. I’ll just take the bus.”

“Can I at least have your number, then, so you can tell me when you get back?” Adora asked, trying to ignore the way her heart was starting to pound in her chest again.

“Sure,” Catra said nonchalantly. She motioned for Adora’s phone so Adora unlocked it and handed it over. She hoped that Catra didn’t see her hands shaking slightly as she received the phone back.

“Goodnight, princess,” Catra offered her one final smirk and then walked off into the night.

“Goodnight, you brat,” Adora called out after her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone that's been reading and leaving kudos! If you like where this story is going or want to see some change, feel free to comment.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hordak gives Catra and Adora an impossible lab assignment, and Catra tries to be a good roommate to Scorpia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone that's been reading and leaving kudos and comments, your support is much appreciated! Here's the next installment of our good ol' classic slow burn
> 
> TW: mentions of borderline personality disorder (BPD)

Hordak was in an exceptionally piss-poor mood Saturday morning. Catra didn’t blame him - it was before eight am on a weekend and he was setting up chemistry lab experiments for two annoying undergrads - but she had a feeling there was something unusual bothering him that day.

She received her first indication of Hordak’s unpleasant attitude when she waltzed into the lab and he scowled at her like she was the gum stuck underneath his shoe. Adora had already arrived and was grabbing two lab coats from the closet in the back of the classroom. While Adora normally wore athletic clothing, that morning she was decked out in olive sweatpants with the Bright Moon logo on the side and a matching track jacket. Catra wanted to remark that Adora’s outfit made her look like a middle-aged housewife, but Hordak’s tense glare prompted her to remain silent.

Catra tossed her knapsack underneath the table and slid onto her stool. Adora approached and offered her a nervous smile as she handed over one of the lab coats. Catra accepted it and almost let out a small, “thank you,” but caught herself in time. She didn’t want Adora thinking that she was getting soft on her.

“For today’s extra credit project,” Hordak began without any sort of greeting. “You must complete all of the labs in the instruction manual. No exceptions. I’ll be back in three hours.”

He grabbed his dark, striped coat and stalked out of the classroom. Catra surveyed the myriad of lab materials on their table as well as the _huge_ stack of papers she assumed was the instruction manual.

“Is he fucking serious?” she asked as Adora shrugged on her lab coat. “We have to finish all of that?”

Adora didn’t so much as blink as she shrugged. “Let’s get to work, then.”

The way that she quickly slapped on her goggles and snatched the instruction manual made Catra suspect that Adora was anxious about something. As she threw on her own lab coat, Catra contemplated what could have happened in the lab before she arrived that had unsettled both Adora and Hordak.

Catra didn’t have time to inquire before Adora began reading the instructions of their first task at a dizzyingly quick pace. Catra noticed that their typical roles were reversed, with Adora reading instead of her. She opened her mouth to protest, but the determined gleam in Adora’s eyes silenced her opposition. They moved through the steps of the lab smoothly, finishing the first experiment before the clock struck 8:30.

They typically took small breaks in between the experiments, either to check their phones or make small talk. Since Hordak never bothered to stay and supervise, Catra figured they had every right to pause for a couple minutes. However, as soon as they finished cleaning up the materials from their first experiment and Catra went to reach for her phone, Adora shoved the instruction manual in Catra’s hands.

When Catra raised an eyebrow, Adora frowned. “Hey, we have to finish all of these experiments before eleven. There’s still five more to go.”

“Calm down, princess,” Catra snarled, placing the manual on the table and plucking her phone from her bag. She settled in a position with her ankles tucked around the two far legs of her stool so she could spread her legs slightly and recline her elbows back against the table. As she opened up Instagram, she called out, “We’ll finish them in time.”

Faster than Catra could anticipate, Adora stepped in between her legs and grabbed her wrist. Catra wasn’t easily flustered, but Adora’s decisive move had her _stunned_. All she could do was sit back and admire the beautiful face before her. They were so close that she could count every eyelash, every small mark on Adora’s smooth skin. In fact, Catra noticed a faint, curved scar in the flesh above Adora’s lip.

When Catra’s eyes flicked back up to meet Adora’s gaze, she realized that Adora had noticed exactly where she had been staring. Adora released her wrist and took a step back. Catra noticed the faintest of blushes upon her cheeks as she apologized, “Sorry.”

Catra made a dramatic show of dropping her phone into her knapsack as Adora continued, “I just can’t afford to waste any time today. I have a track meet right after this, so as soon as Hordak gets back I _have_ to leave.”

Well, that explained the outfit. “Did you tell Hordak about your meet?” Catra questioned as she sat up and scrambled off her stool, her wrist still tingling from Adora’s grasp. “Is that why he’s all pissy today?”

Adora didn’t meet her eyes and busied herself in sorting the materials for their next experiment. She huffed as a strand of her blonde hair fell out of her ponytail and into her eyes. “Adora?” Catra prompted when she didn’t respond.

“Okay, you can’t be mad at me,” Adora started, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear. Catra wondered what the hell she was about to say that prompted her to start with _that_. Had she told Hordak that she couldn’t keep coming to the extra credit assignments because of track, thus dooming both of them to fail the class?

“I emailed Dr. Prime the other day,” Adora admitted. “I told him that it was unfair of Hordak to force us to come into the lab on Saturdays when we have other commitments. So, I asked if there was anything else we could do to improve our grades.” She sighed and looked down at the papers in front of her as she stated, “He responded yesterday and said we need to follow Hordak’s instructions like they’re the word of God or something, and that we should be grateful for the opportunity because he wouldn’t have been so kind.”

Catra felt her blood begin to boil. Adora gripped the manual tightly and pointedly looked straight ahead as she said, “I’m assuming that Prime told Hordak about the email and that’s why Hordak was upset earlier.”

Adora spared a glance over at her. Catra didn’t bother trying to hide her rage as she responded, “I thought I told you _not_ to email Dr. Prime? That it was more trouble than it was worth?”

Adora had the decency to look apologetic as she said, “I was just trying to help us both.”

“But now Hordak is pissed that you went over his head,” Catra retaliated. “He could make our extra credit so impossibly difficult that we won’t ever be able to raise our grades. Honestly, Adora, that was incredibly stupid. You shouldn’t have done that.”

Although hurt flashed in her eyes, Adora held Catra’s gaze. Catra knew that she shouldn’t be yelling at Adora like this, but she was _pissed_. If she failed this class and lost her scholarship because of Adora’s tactlessness, she would never be able to forgive the other girl. 

As Catra’s ire swelled up in her chest, she realized that she was overreacting. After years of living with BPD, she was starting to get better at recognizing the sudden, violent changes in her mood. Unfortunately, that didn’t always translate into being able to calm herself down. She clamped down on her rage as best as she could, balling her hands into fists and clenching her jaw shut.

Adora finally broke their staredown and Catra felt pride flush through her, followed immediately by guilt. She shouldn’t be enjoying Adora’s remorse. Instead, she should be attempting to sympathize with the other girl over her concerns about managing her time.

 _This is why you push her away - because you couldn’t even be a good friend to her if you tried,_ the voice in the back of Catra’s mind taunted. Catra squeezed her eyes shut, shuddering ever so slightly from the ice that flooded her veins at the intrusive thought.

 _Nobody in their right mind would want to be friends with someone as irritable and spiteful as you_ , the voice continued.

Catra clenched her fists tighter as she fired back at the voice, _Stop it, stop it, stop it!_ In her mind’s eye, she pictured a pit of darkness deeper than the depths of the ocean. She dived into the hole, shoveling more darkness on top of her until she could no longer hear the voice’s cruel taunts, which - as always - reflected _her_ own thoughts.

When she finally opened her eyes, she noticed Adora hunched over the table, flipping through the instruction manual. Judging by her posture, Adora hadn’t noticed Catra’s internal crisis. Some sadistic part of her lamented the fact that Adora wouldn’t grant her the gratification of acknowleding her pain. 

“I think we should split up the remaining experiments. There are three short ones and two long ones. I can take the long ones if you want to complete the shorter ones,” Adora suggested.

“Fine,” Catra remarked and accepted the stack of paper Adora placed in her hands. 

They didn’t stop once for the remainder of their time in the lab, both working on their separate experiments in a tense silence. Catra’s anger gradually subsided until she felt human again, capable of normal interaction without lashing out at every inconvenience or discomfort.

Hordak arrived just as Catra was finishing up the notes from her final experiment. Luckily, Adora had already cleaned up the materials from her last experiment, so their workspace didn’t look like they had been working on two separate projects.

Hordak stalked towards their lab table. He paused a couple of steps away and pursed his lips, causing his already sunken cheeks to appear even more hollow. “You… finished?” He sounded doubtful.

“Yes,” Adora replied, shucking her lab coat. “Catra volunteered to clean up the rest since I have to leave for my track meet, so I’ll see you next week.” She slung her duffle bag over her shoulder and sprinted from the room. Although Catra had definitely _not_ volunteered to clean up the remaining supplies by herself, she had no other choice after Adora quickly scampered from the lab.

“May I see your lab notebook?” Hordak questioned and extended his hand. Catra gave him the notebook and began to place the lab components back in their respective cabinets.

“Hmm,” Hordak hummed as he looked through their notes. What type of game was he playing? He couldn’t make Catra stay here and repeat any experiments, so why bother looking through their work right now? “Tell me, what color was the hydrogen tetrachloroaurate solution in your third experiment?”

Catra internally swore. That was one of the experiments _Adora_ completed. How could he tell?

The answer struck her suddenly and Catra mentally cursed again - _Their handwriting_. In the past, Adora had always written the lab reports. This time, however, they had each written reports for their respective experiments. Since Catra’s knobbly scrawl was noticeably distinguishable from Adora’s neat loops, Hordak was deliberately quizzing her on one of Adora’s reports to determine whether they had completed the experiments together or separately.

“Did we not write it down?” Catra feebly offered. Hordak grinned widely, revealing several yellowing teeth.

“No. Considering the solution was the main outcome of the experiment, I don’t expect its color to be too difficult to recall,” he replied.

 _Fuck_. 

“Blue,” Catra guessed, although at this point she could tell Hordak saw right through her.

“Incorrect. It was orange,” Hordak dropped the lab notebook on the table and leered over at her. “If you two do not complete these experiments _together_ , I will ensure neither of you receives the extra credit. Understood?”

The rage that Catra had previously tamed roared up in her ears again. “Maybe if you were a better TA, Adora and I wouldn’t be in this situation,” she snarled.

“This is nobody’s fault but your own, Catra,” he spat at her. “I’ve seen your science grades from that degenerate high school. Are you sure someone with your abysmal level of education should even be in college?”

Catra had no idea how he had gotten his hands on her high school grades, but assumed Dr. Prime was somehow involved. How dare Hordak belittle her education when she grew up in an impoverished area and was passed back and forth between foster families like the beer bong at the robotics party. She tried her best at school, but it wasn’t always easy for her given her ever-changing household situation.

She wanted nothing more than to tell this presumptuous TA where he could stick that lab notebook but, strangely enough, the thought of Adora calmed her down. Catra didn’t care if she jeopardized her own grade in the class by yelling at Hordak, but she couldn’t risk hurting Adora in the process. Since Hordak had intertwined their fates with his stupid extra credit assignment, anything Catra said to him could be used as rationale for rescinding the extra credit opportunity for Adora as well.

 _Adora_ , who was so full of hope that they could get their grades back up in no time. Adora, who was fiercely competitive and would risk getting in trouble with campus security just to prove a point to Catra. Adora, who always looked at Catra like she was _worth_ something.

Catra couldn’t let Hordak ruin Adora’s chances at getting a college degree. Adora deserved to crawl out of the rancid pit of the Fright Zone and start a new life here in Bright Moon. Catra couldn’t allow her insolent behaviour to be the reason Adora was dragged back down.

So, she took a shaky breath. “Don’t punish Adora. It’s not her fault that I didn’t help with that one experiment.”

“Just one?” Hordak raised an eyebrow. Catra swore she saw the fires of hell dancing behind his piercing green eyes.

She gritted her teeth. “Those _two_ experiments,” she choked out. Hordak looked amused as she groveled before him. “Take whatever you want off of my grade for today, but don’t touch Adora’s. She helped with all of the experiments.”

Satisfied, Hordak nodded and stepped back from the table. As Catra cleaned up the remainder of the lab materials, he watched her closely. _What a creep_. 

The second she finished, she raced from the classroom and outside to the quad. She took several deep breaths to ensure that all of her irrational anger had dissipated and began the trek back to her dorm. Dark clouds hung overhead, threatening rain, as she considered whether to stop by a dining hall for a quick snack or head back to her dorm for a nap. She made it all of fifty feet from the chemistry building when her phone buzzed in her knapsack. She retrieved it to find Scorpia’s name and a selfie she had snapped of the two of them at the robotics party flashing on the screen.

“What do you want?” Catra answered the call.

“Oh, thank goodness! I need you to do me a huge favor,” Scorpia said, her voice faint against loud chatter in the background.

Catra sighed. She _really_ wasn’t in the mood to be a good friend right now. “I can’t,” she told her roommate.

“Wait, Catra,” Scorpia protested. “I forgot my athletic tape on my dresser this morning and I need it for shot put today. I _can’t_ do my event without it. Can you please get my tape from the room and bring it down to the track?”

Catra groaned. “Don’t the trainers have some you can use?”

“It’s not the same,” Scorpia explained. “The kind I have is regulation standard for the women’s shot put. _Please_ , Catra. I’ll buy you slushies for a week, I’ll get Entrapta to buy you alcohol, I’ll do whatever.”

Catra pinched the bridge of her nose in between her fingers, all daydreams of her future nap vanishing from her mind. “Fine,” she responded.

“Oh my gosh, you’re the best! Please hurry, my event’s going to start in half an hour and Coach really wants me to do well today because the-” Catra hung up before Scorpia could ramble any more. 

She heeded Scorpia’s request and walked hastily back to their dorm. When she arrived, she spotted two rolls of athletic tape upon her roommate’s dresser. She snatched them and marched towards the bus stop closest to her dorm. Although she’d never been down to the track before, she knew it was close to the Athletic Center, and thus on the opposite end of campus. Hopping on a bus would be significantly faster than trying to rush over there on her own two feet in time for Scorpia’s event.

Catra checked her phone as she climbed aboard the bus and saw that Scorpia had texted her directions to the women’s locker room. She responded that she was on her way and settled into her seat. She looked out the window and noticed that puffy, gray clouds had blanketed the atmosphere, darkening the road in front of them. She wondered if Scorpia’s track meet would get canceled if it started to rain, or if that was just something coaches did in high school when overprotective parents were breathing down their necks.

Regardless, she hauled ass once the bus stopped at the Athletic Center. For a college track meet, there were a surprising number of people milling about the Center. Catra wouldn’t put it past all the rich, snobby Bright Moon athletes to have invited their parents and siblings and aunts and uncles just to watch them run around a track. She pushed past them and followed Scorpia’s detailed instructions to the women’s locker room.

When she opened the door, she was hit with strong wafts of sweat and lemon cleaning solution. She walked past several rows of lockers and noticed shoes, shirts, and water bottles scattered on the benches. There weren’t many athletes, which allowed Catra to easily spot Scorpia at the back row of lockers, pacing back and forth while wringing her hands together nervously.

“Hey,” Catra announced and Scorpia’s head whipped over to her. She tossed the tape and Scorpia caught it deftly.

“Thank you, Wildcat! I love you so much,” Scorpia exclaimed and rushed towards the door that undoubtedly led to the track. “Wish me luck!” Her event must’ve been about to start because she didn’t even pause to give Catra a hug before leaving the locker room. It was either that or Catra’s complaints had finally gotten through and Scorpia was going to tone down all the hugging.

It was only once her roommate disappeared that her words finally echoed into Catra’s mind - _I love you so much._ Catra couldn’t recall the last time someone had uttered those words to her. Scorpia had said it so casually, like it was _easy_ to love her, which Catra knew wasn’t the truth. Even platonically, Catra was truly undeserving of another person’s affections. The sooner Scorpia understood that, and the sooner _Adora_ understood that, the easier their lives would be.

She wrapped her arms around herself and began to walk back towards the entrance to the locker room, but hesitated. Through the crack underneath the door, she could smell buttery concession booth popcorn and pretzels. Her meal stipend paid for any food on campus, including concessions at Bright Moon sporting events. If she got a snack here, she wouldn’t have to trek all the way to a dining hall before returning to her dorm. Plus, Scorpia’s shot put could keep her entertained while she ate.

So, Catra exited the locker room and made her way towards the large concessions tent next to the entrance to the track. A man with salt-and-pepper hair offered up a comment about the weather as he swiped her student ID to pay for the pretzel she requested. She nodded half-heartedly as she received her ID and pretzel. 

As she settled in the stands above the shot put area, she noticed several curious glances from the other patrons, mostly middle-aged folk decked out in university sweatshirts and scarves. Catra knew they were giving her looks because she was a young woman out in public all by herself, but that had never bothered her. Ever since she was young, she was used to venturing out into society alone. She was perfectly content to sit by herself, snacking on her pretzel, and watch her roommate out-throw some losers from other colleges.

Catra turned her attention to the shot put area where Scorpia was frantically taping her wrists. She stood in line behind several other athletes who all had the same muscular build as her. At the blow of a whistle, the first girl stepped forward and accepted the shot from a trainer. Catra heard a man behind her whoop, “That’s my girl!”

Since he couldn’t see her, Catra rolled her eyes and continued to munch on her pretzel. The girl threw the shot decently far, but then again Catra had no idea what to expect. A figure decked out in a Bright Moon track outfit, not unlike the one Adora was wearing earlier that morning, approached the area and took the measurement of the girl’s throw. The next athlete stepped forward and completed their throw, the shot landing a couple feet shy of the spot where the first girl’s had landed.

Then Scorpia stepped forward and accepted the shot from a trainer. Catra watched as she drew it close to her neck then pushed it forward. The shot landed about five feet further than either of the previous throws.

 _That’s my roommate,_ Catra thought with great pride. Scorpia punched the air with her fist triumphantly before moving off to the side of the track.

Catra finished the last of her pretzel and stood to dust off the salt crumbs that had fallen into her lap. As she turned to leave, a distant, melodic laugh drifted up into the stands to tease her ears in an oddly familiar way. She whirled around and saw none other than Adora lining up with several other runners behind white lines painted on the track near the shot put area. Catra had no idea how she had managed to recognize Adora’s voice over all of the chaos of the track meet, as she’d only heard the other girl cackle a couple of times back at her friend Bow’s birthday party. Just as she did back then, Adora laughed with her whole body, her shoulders shaking up and down and her head thrown back in delight. For a brief moment, her warm laughter seemed to part the storm clouds with a beacon of joy, illuminating her in golden rays that only Catra could see.

Before she knew it, Catra had returned to her seat to watch Adora and the other runners line up in their respective lanes. She could delay her nap by a couple more minutes to see the athletic prowess that had earned Adora a track scholarship. At least, that’s what Catra told herself even as her gaze was drawn to the way Adora’s white sports bra revealed a set of lean, tight abs and her olive shorts displayed muscular thighs.

Adora grinned at a teammate as she tightened her ponytail. Even from the stands, Catra could make out the resolute gleam in Adora’s blue-grey eyes. Catra held her breath as a coach in a Bright Moon jacket fired the starting pistol and the runners took off.

She kept her eyes trained on Adora’s blonde ponytail as the runners sprinted around the first curve. Adora took the lead as they ran down the side of the track, but two girls passed her on a tight turn. When the athletes continued onward past the shot put area, Catra realized that this race was longer than just one lap around the track.

The people in the stands around her were hollering and ringing cowbells in Catra’s ears. The noise was so obnoxiously loud that she scrunched up her shoulders to try and cover her ears. As the runners raced around the track, Adora managed to regain her lead, but just barely. One of the girls stuck close on her tail as they began to approach the shot put area again.

Time seemed to slow as the girl behind Adora stumbled and fell towards the track. She flung her arms out, most likely to break her fall, and grabbed the back of Adora’s leg in the process. Catra gasped as the two girls tumbled to the ground in a heap. The other runners continued around them, racing towards the starting lines on the track. The girl who tripped scrambled up and extended a hand to help Adora to her feet. Even from a distance, Catra could tell that something was off in the way Adora blindly reached out for the girl’s hand and struggled to stand.

Then, Catra watched as Adora turned to hurl her guts up onto the track, and passed out.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the past, Adora tries to stick up for Catra. In the present, Adora tries to remember what happened.

_Adora shifted nervously in her chair. Not only did she really have to pee, but Mother Esperanza was taking_ forever _to talk to Catra. In all honesty, Adora and Catra had never meant for Ella to trip and smack her head against a bench, causing one of her teeth to fall out. They had greased up the girl’s shoes the night before just to see her stumble throughout the day, unable to figure out what was causing her to walk weirdly. Besides, Ella had been rude to Catra in class all week and she had only lost a baby tooth, so Adora didn’t see why Mother Esperanza had gotten so mad at them._

_As she waited outside Mother Esperanza’s office, Adora stared at a large painting of a figure holding a lamb to its chest. Mother Esperanza, along with the other nuns, worked out of a cramped office space shoved in between the chapel and the younger girls’ math classroom. Although Adora couldn’t hear anything from inside the office, she listened earnestly as the ethereal tones of the chapel choir floated through the hallways. Adora couldn’t wait until she turned ten and was eligible to audition for the choir. She loved the idea of working as a unit with the other singers to produce something so beautiful and majestic, regardless of the language of the piece or the scripture it recounted. Plus, singing in the choir would give her something to do during chapel besides scribbling drawings on the corners of the hymn books._

_Her bladder twisted painfully and she debated leaving her spot for just_ two _seconds to go pee, but the large ‘creeeak’ of a door opening and movement in the corner of her eye halted any of her plans. She whipped her head around and watched Catra fly past, tears streaming from her eyes. Adora’s throat clenched at the sight of her friend so distraught. She wished that she didn’t have to talk to Mother Esperanza so she could instead go wrap Catra up her favorite fleece blanket and tickle her nose until her tears stopped._

_Mother Esperanza looked down at Adora with icy blue eyes. She kept her veil tight against her forehead, exaggerating the wrinkles in her skin from her ever-present frown. Adora and Catra would always joke that one of her wrinkles would soon turn into an inchworm and crawl right off her face. The thought of something so ridiculous lifted Adora’s spirits, even as the nun growled, “Come inside.”_

_Adora slid off the plastic chair and shuffled into Mother Esperanza’s small office. She smelled the faint remnants of incense as she took in the sturdy wooden desk in the center of the room and tall bookshelf full of hefty tomes on the far wall. This was only the second time she had ever been inside one of the nun’s offices, and the first time with Mother Octavia hadn’t been pretty. Mother Octavia had busted her and Catra for sneaking into the kitchens after lights out. Adora tried to explain that they barely got fed enough food at dinner and Catra’s stomach was growling as they tried to sleep, but the nun had still given both of them trash duty for a week. Adora was beginning to count the days until she and Catra could leave this desolate prison._

_Mother Esperanza closed the door with a swift flick of her hand and marched around Adora to sit behind the desk. She folded her hands in her lap and scowled. She didn’t speak at first, and Adora was too afraid to, so the air between them ballooned with a tense, pregnant silence._

_Finally, the nun sighed. “I expected better from you, Adora,” she said. Adora’s heart sank. She was afraid that if she continued to upset the nuns, they would stop looking for a family to adopt her._

_With this fear in her heart, Adora swallowed her pride. “I’m really sorry, Mother Esperanza,” she apologized._

_The nun sat forward and shifted so her clasped hands rested on the desk in front of her. “I’m only going to tell you this once, so listen carefully. The devil has taken ahold of Catra. Her mind, her very spirit, has been corrupted by dark desires. You, on the other hand… there is still hope for you. You need to stop spending time with that wretched girl. Let her go and I promise you can find peace in knowing you did the right thing.”_

_Adora tried to not let her confusion show. If the devil had a hold on Catra, he also had one on her too, since she had suggested the prank in the first place._

_“But I was the one who came up with the idea,” Adora admitted._

_Mother Esperanza chuckled lightly. “Dear, there’s no need to try and defend your friend. I know she was possessed with the hideous idea and delighted in dragging you along. That is why_ she _is receiving kitchen duty for the indefinite future and_ you _are not.”_

_No, no, no. Mother Esperanza had this all wrong. Adora opened her mouth to protest but the nun cut her off with a hand._

_“I know, I know. You’re extremely grateful that I decided to spare you from punishment. I am sorry, dear, but I have a headache after dealing with Catra and can’t talk much more. Please return to your class at once.” Mother Esperanza let her head fall into her hands._

_Although she wanted to say more, Adora obeyed and left the office. Why couldn’t Mother Esperanza and the other nuns see that Catra was kindhearted and loyal? All they saw was someone who had a rebellious streak and deserved to be punished._

_Instead of returning to class, she climbed up the three flights of stairs to reach the attic. The attic had quickly become one of her and Catra’s favorite spots because the other kids were too scared of ghosts to bother them and the nuns were too lazy to climb all the stairs up here to look for them. Sure enough, when Adora rounded the final staircase, Catra was seated on the windowsill overlooking the back lawn. She had her legs pulled tight to her chest as she leaned against the wall. As Adora approached, Catra turned her head, allowing the blonde to spot dried tear marks on her freckled cheeks._

_“Let me guess- you didn’t get in trouble?” Catra said in a hollow voice as Adora sat down on the opposite side of the windowsill. The little wooden alcove was small enough that her shoe brushed against Catra’s as she tucked her legs underneath her._

_“How did you know?” Adora questioned._

_Catra scoffed. “Oh, please. All the nuns hate me while they revere you like a saint. Mother Esperanza scolded me for ‘corrupting’ you, her golden girl.”_

_Adora clenched her fists in frustration. The older she got, the more she realized that life - above all else - was unfair. Even though she tried to defend Catra, Mother Esperanza had refused to listen._

_But that didn’t mean that Adora was going to stop trying. Even if Mother Esperanza never listened, Adora would continue to stick up for her friend._

_“I told her it was my idea but she didn’t believe me,” she recounted but Catra just frowned. “Catra,” she reached over and put her hand on her friend’s knee. “I tried to tell them it wasn’t your fault.”_

_“I didn’t ask you to protect me,” Catra shifted her legs out of Adora’s grip. She braced her hands on either side of her on the windowsill and refused to make eye contact with Adora as she said in a strained voice, “I think you should go back to class.”_

_“Catra,” Adora pleaded. “I’m sorry that Mother Esperanza is so cruel to you. She wants to split us apart. She knows how much we mean to each other and is trying to take away our friendship.”_

_She paused, hesitantly scooching closer to Catra. The cedar-haired girl didn’t flinch or walk away, so Adora continued, “We have to look out for each other. Don’t push me away or she wins._ They _win.”_

_Catra sniffled. Adora summoned her courage and wrapped her arms around Catra’s shoulders. The other girl sank into her embrace and Adora’s heart soared. “We have to look out for each other. Nothing bad can happen as long as we have each other.”_

_Catra turned in Adora’s grasp, tears falling slowly from her turquoise and gold eyes. Adora reached over with her thumb and wiped them off her friend’s cheek. “You promise?” Catra asked, her voice cracking on the word._

_With all of her heart, Adora responded assuredly, “I promise.”_

* * *

Adora blinked frantically as she regained consciousness, harsh fluorescent lights piercing her eyelids. She felt weightless, unsure of where her body began and the blazing, white-blue lights ended.

_What happened?_

She blinked and blinked as she slowly regained her senses. Her body was deeply sore and her temples throbbed with every heartbeat, a sharp pain emanating from her head like someone was repeatedly slamming an ice pick into her skull. She realized that she was lying on a flat surface and the dark clumps above her were actually people. Her vision was spinning so violently she couldn’t make out any other features of the figures except their mouths opening and closing soundlessly, like fish out of water.

_Talking_ , some faint part of her recognized. _They’re trying to talk to me._

She opened her mouth to respond but found her tongue too dry to maneuver. A familiar metallic taste arose in the back of her throat as she attempted to swallow normally. When her stomach roiled with nausea, she realized that she must’ve thrown up earlier.

The world suddenly tilted and she squeezed her eyes shut. She stayed that way for what could’ve been hours until several voices eventually filtered through her muddled state. One voice she recognized immediately.

“Are you sure there’s nothing else you can do for her?” Glimmer demanded in a forceful tone.

“As soon as she’s fully awake, I can diagnose her. Then I’ll be able to administer some pain medication through her IV,” another voice responded.

Adora tried to say that she would like some pain meds _right now_ thank you very much, but all that came out of her mouth was a groan. She opened her eyes, which had finally adjusted to the fluorescent overhead lighting, and assessed her situation. From the medical equipment at her feet and the IV drip hanging next to her, she determined she was in the hospital. Glimmer stood to her right and was exchanging stern glances with a doctor who stood on Adora’s left. Bow, who stood next to Glimmer with a hand on her shoulder, watched the two with wide eyes. Adora glanced beyond him to see Scorpia, dressed in her track uniform, and Catra crammed into the corner of the small hospital room.

Adora attempted to move up into a sitting position and all eyes flicked over to her.

“Ah, please take it easy, Ms. Grayskull,” the doctor instructed. She placed her hand on Adora’s back and helped her sit up.

“What happened?” Adora got out, each word a colossal effort given the fact that her mouth was still exceptionally dry.

“I believe that you’ve suffered from a moderate concussion,” the doctor said. “I just need to confirm with a couple quick tests.” She reached in her pocket and pulled out a small flashlight. She ordered Adora to look up and down as she waved the flashlight around. She then prodded Adora’s ears and asked, “On a scale of one to ten, with one being not dizzy at all and ten being extremely dizzy, how dizzy do you feel?”

Adora tried to focus on Glimmer’s sparkly earring, but it bounced around with each blink. “Uh… eight?”

As the doctor continued her examination, Adora’s mind whirled. _How did I get here_? The last thing she remembered was the track meet. Before her event started, she had recognized one of the other runners as a girl from an opposing college who had bested her in a previous race. Adora had resolved to keep a tight pace and push her body more than normal to finally beat the other girl, and although she struggled to gulp down enough air, her legs had pumped faithfully underneath her. 

She remembered rounding the track and seeing the finish line no less than 10 meters ahead when her world turned upside down. A firm body collapsed on top of her, sending her tumbling towards the track. She didn’t have enough time to put her arms out in front of her before her head smacked the track _hard_ , her teeth rattling in her skull. After that, her memory was hazy. She recalled attempting to stand back up and a wave of intense nausea, but nothing past that point.

As the gravity of what had happened began to sink in, Adora felt the beginnings of panic start to prickle in her chest. She took a deep breath to calm herself down, inhaling for four seconds and exhaling for another four. As her heart rate began to return to normal, she overheard the doctor instructing Glimmer on how to take care of her once she left the hospital.

Adora wished she could pay attention - she’d never suffered from a concussion before and wanted to know what to expect - but her brain was foggy and refused to comply. Instead, her thoughts drifted to how the concussion might impact her track season. Would she be able to run again before the end of the semester?

Slowly, the throbbing in her head dulled (no doubt a result of the pain medicine the doctor filtered into her IV) and Adora relaxed back onto the pillows. The light still burned her eyes and her mouth still felt like it was stuffed with cotton balls, but her joints and muscles were infinitely less sore than before. The doctor said she’d come back to check on her in about an hour and Adora nodded. Glimmer thanked the doctor as she left the hospital room.

“Adora…how are you doing?” Bow said tentatively.

Adora attempted to focus on his face. “Not amazing,” she admitted. Bow put his hand over hers comfortingly and Glimmer offered her a sympathetic smile.

“The doctor gave you something for the dizziness as well as some general pain medicine,” Glimmer told her. “But other than that, you’ll just have to wait this out.”

“How long?” Adora asked.

“Anywhere from a week to two weeks,” Glimmer said. “But don’t worry- the doctor’s going to write you a note so you don’t have to go to class. I’ll take notes for you in poly sci and chemistry-”

“-and I’ll take notes for you in history,” Bow finished. Not for the first time, Adora was grateful that she shared several classes with her friends.

“Thanks, guys,” she croaked. “For the notes and for being here.”

“You should really be thanking Scorpia,” Bow told her. Adora glanced over Bow’s shoulder to where Scorpia was standing, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. Although she and Catra were doing their best to be as unobtrusive as possible, Scorpia’s height made that near impossible. “She was the one that carried you from the track and called us.”

Scorpia waved a hand. “Oh, it was no trouble. You would’ve done the same.”

Although Adora considered herself an athletic person, she doubted she could lift someone as built as Scorpia. She didn’t bother mentioning this and instead glanced over to Catra, who was seated in the sole chair in the room. She had her arms wrapped around her legs and was glaring at the tile flooring. 

_Why is she here in the first place?_ Adora pondered. _How did she get dragged into this mess?_

Nobody spoke as Adora continued to stare at Catra. Catra undoubtedly knew Adora’s attention was focused on her, but stubbornly refused to look up.

“Now that you’re awake…” Glimmer started, but hesitated. Adora withdrew her gaze from Catra and did her best to raise an eyebrow at her roommate.

“We’re going to go get some snacks!” Bow announced, grabbing Glimmer’s hand and offering Adora a reassuring smile before leaving the room.

Scorpia reached out to catch the door before it shut. “And I actually promised Coach Micah I’d call once we got your diagnosis,” she stated. “I’ll be right back!” she exclaimed and left the room.

Which left Adora alone with Catra. Although her mind was jumbled, Adora found the effort to say, “You know, for someone who’s trying to stay away from me, you’re doing a pretty bad job at it.”

Catra scoffed, but didn’t fall for the bait. She kept her eyes trained downwards like her gaze could bore a hole through the tile flooring and into the center of the earth. 

Adora pushed further. “Why are you here?”

Catra finally, _finally_ , glanced up. She took her time to unfurl her legs and stretch, her joints popping like she’d been sitting still for a while, before she explained, “I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” 

Adora frowned at Catra’s frustratingly unclear response. She swallowed, attempting to gather more moisture in her mouth so that she could speak without feeling like she was eating sand. She wanted to retort that at least Catra wasn’t _concussed_ , but she faltered. Why did she continue to bother with Catra? The other girl had made it crystal clear that she wasn’t interested in being friends regardless of their many unexpected encounters on campus.

But, despite her callous rhetoric, Catra still comforted Adora when she confessed her anxieties about her Nana’s diagnosis. Catra still helped her control her fear of heights when they were sneaking out of the Dean’s Office. And Catra still showed up every Saturday morning to assist Adora with their extra credit assignments. As much as Catra smirked at her and taunted her, Adora was starting to think that Catra didn’t hate her at all. Beneath Catra’s tough exterior lay a fiercely loyal and compassionate person, someone whom Adora was beginning to admire. 

So, instead of trying to push more of Catra’s buttons, Adora said, “Thanks for being here.” She leaned back into her pillows and closed her eyes to abate her dizziness.

“Don’t go thinking I care about you,” Catra spoke up. “I am _not_ here because I like you. I just happened to be at the track when you collapsed and since I’m such a wonderful person, I helped Scorpia get you to the ambulance.” 

Adora ‘hmmed’ in response. She heard Catra sigh, followed by the scrape of the chair against the tile floor. She peaked open an eye and saw Catra standing beside her hospital bed. “You know, I figured your stupid little hair poof would cushion the blow,” she reached out to poke Adora’s hair before Adora could stop her.

“My hair poof isn’t _stupid_ ,” Adora protested. Catra burst into a melodious cackle that filled the tiny hospital room.

“Sure it isn’t,” she retorted, a playful gleam in her captivating heterochromatic eyes. “Well, while you were busy being an unconscious person,” she continued and Adora resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I came up with an idea for your key.”

“My key?” Adora pressed. Perhaps it was the concussion, but couldn’t recall ever discussing a key with Catra.

“Your room key, dummy. Now that you have a concussion, you’ll probably forget it even more than normal. So I came up with a solution,” Catra announced. 

She watched as Catra reached onto the table next to the hospital bed and grabbed several of _Adora’s_ belongings.

“Hey-” Adora protested but Catra silenced her with a resolute look.

“Just trust me,” Catra said and Adora nodded, the movement causing her head to flare in agony. She hissed through her teeth as the sharp pain diminished. Catra held up one of Adora’s hair ties and her room key. She threaded the golden piece of elastic through the top of the key and pulled, securing the hair tie around the metal. Catra’s face grew into a smirk as she confidently admired her handiwork. She dangled the key tauntingly above Adora’s hand, the gleam in her eyes challenging Adora to try and take it from her. Adora reached out but Catra nimbly stepped just beyond her reach, chuckling lightly.

“Don’t exert yourself, princess. Here,” she stepped forward and grasped Adora’s wrist, her fingers warm against Adora’s clammy skin. She gently slid the hair tie onto Adora’s wrist and secured the key underneath it. Every brush of her fingertips sent jolts of electricity through Adora’s body. “Just don’t forget to put this on in the morning,” Catra teased.

Adora nodded again, her throat suddenly choked up from the intoxicating feeling of Catra’s hand around her arm. She felt heat rise in her face and knew that the flush on her cheeks was noticeable to the other girl. “Aye aye, captain,” she replied.

Catra rolled her eyes, no doubt at Adora’s dorky response, but didn’t move away. As her smirk faded into a warm smile, an unruly strand of her thick hair fell in front of her bandana. Before Adora could even register what she was doing, she reached up, fighting her aching limbs, and tucked the surprisingly soft strand of hair behind Catra’s ear. It was Catra’s turn to flush as Adora’s fingers lingered against her cheek.

“Adora-” she started but was interrupted by the loud screech of the hospital door swinging open.

“Okay, Coach Micah wanted me to tell you tha-” Scorpia halted, a hand still on the door, as she took in the scene before her. Catra jumped back like she’d been struck by lightning and Adora immediately mourned the loss of the other girl’s warm and steady fingers around her wrist.

Scorpia scratched the back of her neck nervously. “I, uh,” she started. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”

“You weren’t interrupting _anything_ ,” Catra spat emphatically. Adora shouldn’t have been surprised at how ferociously Catra denied the accusation of anything occurring between them, but considering how gentle Catra had just been with her moments ago, Adora felt her heart sink at the other girl’s words.

“What did Coach Micah say?” Adora asked in an attempt to change the topic of conversation.

Scorpia scratched at her neck one last time, still visibly uncomfortable. “Oh, he said that you should take all the time you need to recover and that he doesn’t want to see you back at practice for at least another two weeks.”

Adora nodded, offering her friend a small smile. As unpleasant as the concussion was turning out to be, she was extremely grateful that she hadn’t twisted her ankle or injured herself in a way that would have sidelined her for the remainder of the track season. She didn’t even know if she’d be allowed to keep her scholarship if that happened.

“Thanks, Scorpia,” she said.

“No problem,” Scorpia responded. Her eyes noticeably flicked between Catra and Adora once more before sitting down in the chair Catra vacated.

Luckily, Bow and Glimmer returned soon with a handful of vending machine snacks and a story about almost getting stuck on the elevator. They gave Scorpia and Catra some of the snacks and stood around Adora’s bed. Adora closed her eyes but listened to their conversation to distract her from the dull agony that still pulsed through her head.

The doctor eventually returned and handed off some paperwork detailing care instructions to Glimmer. Scorpia and Catra followed them out of the hospital and into the parking garage, where Adora struggled to climb into Bow’s car. While the others were talking, Catra reached out and put her hand on the small of Adora’s back, guiding her down into the passenger seat. Before Adora could thank her, Catra had scrambled away.

The entire ride back to campus, Adora’s head flared up in pain at every sharp turn, every pothole and pebble underneath the wheels of Bow’s car. Bow profusely apologized and drove so slow that a couple cars behind him honked before passing him swiftly on the left. Adora just gritted her teeth and nodded at his apologies, as her nausea began to return.

She held Glimmer’s hand as they walked into the dorm, suddenly exhausted from the day’s events. Despite her sweaty body and dirty track clothes, she moved to lay down on her bed as soon as they were back in the room. Bow sat on Glimmer’s bed, reading through the doctor’s paperwork while Glimmer left to fill up Adora’s water bottle. When she returned, she knelt next to Adora’s head. “Your water bottle is on the ground right here if you need it. You can sleep, but Bow and I will wake you up in two hours just to make sure you’re doing okay,” Glimmer told her. “Is there anything else I can get you right now? Do you… do you want me to text your Nana?”

“No,” Adora responded groggily. Black spots appeared in the corners of her vision as her body sunk into the mattress. “I don’t want to bother her.” She closed her eyes, but spoke into the room, “Thanks for taking care of me. I love you both.”

“We love you too,” Bow responded sweetly. “Now get some rest.” 

And with his words, Adora was out like a light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're on tumblr, come find me [@heartofmara](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/heartofmara)


End file.
